Lemon-Herb Roast Chicken with Schmaltz Potatoes
The Sunday-night chicken I have been refining for ten years.
The two things that make a roast chicken great are dry skin and a hot oven. Everything else — the herbs, the lemon, the butter — is decoration. Pat the bird obsessively dry, salt it the day before, leave it uncovered in the fridge overnight, and you're already 80% of the way there.
The schmaltz potatoes are a tax-deductible side dish: they cost nothing, since they cook in fat that would otherwise be discarded, and they ruin you for any other potato.
Method
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Dry-brine the bird (the night before)
Pat the chicken absolutely dry, inside and out. Sprinkle all over — including the cavity — with the kosher salt and pepper. Set on a rack over a plate and refrigerate uncovered for 12–24 hours. The skin will go slightly tacky and matte; that's exactly what you want.
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Stuff and butter
About an hour before you plan to eat, take the chicken out and let it sit on the counter while the oven heats to 450°F (230°C). Stuff the cavity with the lemon halves (squeezed first, then dropped in), thyme, rosemary, and garlic. Rub the softened butter all over the breast and legs. Truss the legs with twine if you have it; otherwise just cross them.
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Roast hard
Place the potatoes in the bottom of a heavy 12-inch cast-iron skillet, toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and push them to the edges. Set the chicken breast-up in the center. Roast for 65–75 minutes, until the thigh joint reads 165°F (74°C) and the skin is deep mahogany. Tip the pan halfway through to baste the potatoes with the rendered fat.
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Rest, then carve
Transfer the chicken to a board and tent loosely with foil for at least 15 minutes — non-negotiable, or all the juice ends up on your cutting board instead of in the meat. The potatoes will keep crisping in the pan. Carve, plate over the potatoes, and squeeze the (now jammy) roasted lemon over everything.
Cook's notes
- No 24 hours? Salt it in the morning for a dinner roast. Even four hours uncovered in the fridge helps.
- Pour any pan juices over the carved meat at the table. Don't make a gravy — it doesn't need one.
From the comments
3 notes from people who cooked this.
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Sam Q.
Did the 24-hour dry brine for the first time and I am never going back. The skin shattered.
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Nora W.
I made stock from the carcass and used the lemon halves in the pot. Two dinners and a soup out of one chicken — exactly the kind of math I love.
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Devon A.
My boyfriend told me he was impressed and that's the highest praise he gives. Thanks, Margot.
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