Slow Roasted Chicken

Adapted from the February 18, 2014 issue of Bon Appétit, where it appeared as “Herb Faux-Tisserie Chicken” attributed to Carla Lalli Music

For me this the perfect roast chicken recipe since what I want is juicy breast meat sliced for dinner the first night, and the rest of the chicken picked clean for chicken tetrazzini or chicken salad the second.  This method produces a beautiful golden — but not brown — chicken with tender meat that is delicious the first night and shreds perfectly for whatever you want to make the second. I cook mine in an old fashioned 15-inch Granite Ware Roaster and put the chicken on a rack and cover it during cooking.

When I am seasoning the chicken, I use Fennel & Salt by Casina Rossa,* which I have turned into powder in a spice grinder, and I use it sparingly because I have salted the chicken in advance.  You can used crushed fennel seeds and a little bit more salt instead.

Fennel & Salt or Crushed Fennel and a little salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons oil — olive oil or a neutral oil
1 4-pound chicken, preferably pasture raised—or at least the best one you can find

The day you are going to cook the chicken, salt it in the morning and put it on a rack in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook it. 

Preheat the oven to 300°F conventional or 275°F convection (what I do).

Rub the chicken all over with the oil then spread with the spices you are using. If you have salted the chicken in advance, be sparing when adding more. If you're not using Casina Rossa Fennel & Salt, grind fennel seeds yourself  or use already ground fennel and add a little salt. (If you are using Fennel & Salt, don't add more salt.) Grind pepper over the chicken and rub the chicken again to distribute the spices. 

Place the chicken in your roaster and put the cover on. Bake until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165°F. This will take 2-1/2 hours (convection) to 3 hours (conventional). Allow the chicken to rest for at least 10 minutes before carving.

*I use Fennel & Salt (Sale Marino & Finocchio) by Casina Rossa. It is a combination of sea salt, fennel, black pepper, white pepper, turmeric, oregano, curry, laurel, thyme, pimento, and juniper. It comes as a coarse mixture, but I blitz it in my spice mill and keep it in a jar, which has a perforated top under a cover. I think it’s delicious on pork as well as chicken.