Roasting Chicken in Rock Salt

Angela Roberts — Wed, 09 Oct 2013 12:00:51 +0000

The next time someone calls you a chicken, take it as a compliment. I can’t imagine the world without chickens or the eggs they produce. I know I know, someone vegan will show me differently, but they’ll never convince me. I eat my eggs runny, and I eat my chicken right off the bone, with my fingers. I’m not big on sauces for every day reality cooking, but I’m big on feeling satisfied, which is why I almost always cook whole chicken.

Roasting chicken in rock salt is something I naturally would one day get around to doing. Roast chicken is my signature dish, and I’ve made it a dozen different ways, although almost always with the same technique, high heat and a cast iron pan.

Oh and yes, there is salt involved. Now why is that?

Salt brings tenderness to meats that tend to dry out. The breast of the chicken is vulnerable to drying out and getting tough and unappetizing. Salt is magical in cooking, not just for it’s flavor enhancing properties, but for tenderizing. If you are like me, you need easy recipes to fall back on, when you are in brain overload. Roasting chicken in rock salt looks cool and even somewhat exotic, but it couldn’t be any easier. I try hard to write with my readers in mind. There is a foodie following, but most of you are regular home cooks, looking for ideas and kitchen help and you are the folks I write for. If any recipe helps just one person change their kitchen life for the better, I’m satisfied.

Roasting a chicken in salt is something most folks don’t do everyday, but try this, and be surprised at how tender it is, and flavorful, not salty like you might think. Insert some citrus inside the chicken for some acid and any kind of herbs you prefer.