Sassy Caesar & the Perfect Roasted Chicken

This is my uppity updated version of a Caesar Salad. I'm also sharing my take on the easiest roasted chicken method because this pairing is my family's go-to dinner favorite any time of the year, in fact, Dewey and I can eat this crispy-crunchy and satisfying combo twice a week. Often, we do!

My method for roasting a small chicken follows. For the Caesar dressing recipe in printable format, click here.

The chicken is roasted at a high temperature for maximum skin crunch with moist and juicy flesh. In our house, this is perfection. The seasoning is minimal, but the method and the size and quality of the chicken are crucial to its success. If you'd like my chicken roasting method in printable format, click here.

We only use Springer Mountain whole chickens. You can read up on why, but I can add taste as one reason to any good chicken management and processing information that you may find about them. This chicken wins our taste test every time. I haven't tried all brands of chicken, but I have tried a lot, and Springer Mountain Farms wins, always! I'd love to try some of the White Oak Pastures chickens, but they're not within our price range right now. (We eat a lot of chicken!) I really believe in their "radically traditional farming" practices, but we're not ready to spend that much at this point.

Only whole chickens? Why? Roasted chicken is best when it's whole. Bone in and skin on yields a better bite. You can try this with quartered parts, but you'll have to play around with the cooking time so that they don't dry out. 

The chickens I use are under four pounds. If your chicken weighs more, adjust the cooking time.

These chicken halves were cooked in a roasting pan.
Still delicious, but they did not brown evenly.

My method is similar to spatchcocking or butterflying a whole chicken. I cut lengthwise all the way through the breast and the back. Caution: Do not remove the back. It lends flavor to the pan juices that accumulate, and it's filled with bits of delicious meat and more of that crispy skin. I always look for the back when chicken is served. Yes, even with fried chicken.

First, preheat the oven to 450F and move one rack to the center.

I use a large heavy-duty sheet pan to roast my chicken halves. The chicken will brown more evenly this way. If you use a roasting pan, this will likely change everything because the high sides slow down the browning of the skin. If that's all you have, set the chickens on top of a rack. A cooling rack that fits your pan will do nicely, or you can get creative with scrunching several balls of foil to place under each piece. You can also try using a large cast iron pan with a round cooling rack under the chicken.

Quartered and ready for serving.

Leave the chicken on the pan for about 30 minutes to ensure that you're not trying to cook a very cold and wet protein. if you take it out of refrigeration and pop it straight into a hot oven, it will respond differently and may not cook properly. Pat dry with paper towels and drizzle generously with olive oil. This will add flavor and assist in speeding up the browning process. Sprinkle with coarse Celtic (grey) sea salt and ground black pepper. I don't season under the chicken. 

The salt does make a difference. If you must use table salt, use it sparingly. You can always add a bit more at the table. Massage the seasonings into the chicken and move them around the pan to coat the backs with some of the excess oil, salt and pepper.

Perfection

Place the pan in the oven and set the timer for 45 minutes. Using a thermometer placed into the middle of a thigh, check the temperature. The USDA recommends an internal temperature of 165F. You may want to cook to a lower temperature and allow to continue cooking as the chicken rests for ten minutes. Use your best judgment and work at your comfort level. Ideally, the chicken skin will be a deep golden brown. Depending on the weight of your chicken, you may need to continue roasting for another 15 minutes to one-half hour. Once you get a feel for this, it will be less stressful.

Remove the pan and place on a cooling rack. The chicken should rest for ten minutes. Do not cover, or that crispy skin will soften. The pan drippings can be drizzled onto the breast meat or saved and frozen to add to soups to amplify the flavor.

Caesar salad dressing recipe can be found here in printable format.