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Epicurious

Fully Salted Roast Chicken

4.5

(12)

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Image may contain Food Roast Meal Supper Dinner Dish and Turkey Dinner
Photo by Alex Lau

This two-ingredient chicken relies on nothing but kosher salt—lots of it—to yield crisp skin and juicy meat.

Ingredients

Serves 4

1 (3 1/2–4-lb.) chicken
Kosher salt

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Pat dry chicken with paper towels. Holding a 5-finger pinch of salt and positioning your hand at least 10" above chicken, evenly rain salt down over chicken. Repeat with several more pinches of salt until both inside and outside of chicken are covered with salt (be generous and make sure to get inside all the nooks and crannies). Place chicken on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet and chill uncovered at least 8 hours and up to 1 day.

    Step 2

    Let sit at room temperature 1 hour.

    Step 3

    Preheat oven to 425°F. Roast chicken until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of chicken thigh registers 165°F, 40–55 minutes. Transfer chicken to a cutting board and let rest 15 minutes before carving.

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Reviews (12)

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  • I am not sure what I missed here, but the chicken just tastes so salty! It was moist, yes. But too salty. Also, it did have a nice crispy skin coming out of the oven, but by the time it was done "resting" on the cutting board, the skin was soggy. What did I do wrong?

    • Anonymous

    • 1/15/2022

  • Absolutely delicious and easy. Even my husband, who isn't a fan of chicken, loved it. After the chicken was done and resting, I added white wine to deglaze the pan. I reduced it and added some fresh sage and tarragon and reduced a bit more. Yum!

    • krobbins2

    • Delaware

    • 11/17/2019

  • This was the best roasted chicken I've ever made myself. It was tender, juicy, and so simple. I used the chicken in my chicken tortilla soup and it was delicious. I highly recommend it!

    • lizzard_head

    • Denver, CO

    • 1/1/2019

  • I roasted Bone-in Skin-on Chicken Thighs using this technique. Wow! The flavor and texture were extraordinary. Cooking time 30 minutes at 400° convect, 10 minutes at 425°. Crispy and aucculent at the same time.

    • adrianag1

    • North Georgia

    • 5/23/2017

  • I happened to have bone-in thighs on hnad and decided to try this method out. Wow! It was delicious! (I cooked them at 400° convection roast setting for 20 minutes. Next time I'll cook them at 425°. Delicious crispy chicken!

    • adrianag1

    • Atlanta, Ga

    • 5/22/2017

  • Dry brining like this recipe calls for works fantastic for most types of protein! I do this for steaks and roasts all the time. It helps it get a great sear on the outside and if you let it set long enough it actually reabsorbs the liquid that is pulled out by the salt.

    • hotwingninja

    • Norfolk, VA

    • 5/22/2017

  • This recipe is another way of saying, "Use good kosher (preferably organic) chicken." Your prep time is nothing.

    • Anonymous

    • 5/22/2017

  • Cool recipe... Ultimately similar to brining which is more or less fool-proof if you know how to do it....

    • Username4U

    • San DiegoS

    • 5/22/2017

  • I've made it countless times and it is the juciest and crispiest chicken. I sprinkled fresh thyme when it was resting. A family favorite!

    • fernandadomit

    • Miami

    • 5/21/2017

  • So good and SO easy. I'd add some lemons next time, but super easy.

    • sjsweitzer

    • Durham, NC

    • 1/17/2017

  • The MOST juicy chicken I've ever made. Super easy. It doesn't really brown up like the photo though. Gotta figure out some way to do that!

    • jeri_l

    • Brooklyn

    • 10/23/2016

  • This might be the best chicken I have ever made. Used pink salt. Turned out great, crispy skin, evenly seasoned meat... just gotta plan ahead.

    • adelka

    • 9/23/2016

TagsWhole ChickenChickenPoultryMainDinnerDairy FreeGluten FreeNut FreeKetoRoastPassoverRosh HashanahBon Appétit

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