Juicy Roast Chicken

Juicy Roast Chicken


1 (6-pound) roasting hen
1 cup salt
2 onions, quartered (divided use)
Leaf ends from 3 celery stalks, divided
4 fresh sage leaves, divided
4 sprigs fresh thyme, divided
1 small orange, quartered
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons dark corn syrup
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted
3 tablespoons cornstarch

Remove neck and giblet package from the chicken and pull off flap of fat if there is one. Rub hen inside and out with the 1 cup salt. Place chicken in a pot that is just large enough to hold it and tall enough to completely cover it with water. Add ice water just to cover chicken and stir briefly. Place in refrigerator for 3 hours. Remove bird and rinse for several minutes under cold, running water to remove all salt inside and out.

(NOTE: for food safety reasons, when you are through rinsing the bird in sink, you must thoroughly wash and disinfect entire sink area before using it for any other purposes, or you may cross-contaminate any uncooked food coming in contact with sink or counter)

While chicken is in refrigerator, make a simple stock by simmering neck, giblets (no liver), 1 of the quartered onions, 1 leaf end of celery, 2 sage leaves, 2 thyme sprigs and 1 quart water in a large saucepan over low heat for 1 to 2 hours. Strain and save stock. Pull meat from neck and add to stock. Cut up giblets and add to stock.

Preheat oven to 475 F.

Arrange a V-rack for holding bird over a pan to catch juices. Pour 1 1/2 cups stock into pan, reserving the rest. Place remaining quartered onion, leaf ends of celery, sage leaves, and thyme sprigs, plus the orange and bay leaf, in chicken cavity.

In a small bowl, stir together the corn syrup and butter. Brush chicken lightly with this mixture and place in a V-rack, breast-side down. Roast 20 minutes, basting with drippings in pan every 7 minutes. Remove chicken from oven and turn onto one side (so that one leg and thigh are up). Baste with butter mixture and return to oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven again, turn completely over onto its other side, baste well with butter mixture and return to oven for another 10 minutes.

Remove chicken from oven again and turn oven down to 325 F. Leave oven door partially open so temperature will come down quickly. Turn bird breast-side up, brush well with butter mixture and return to oven. Baste every 5 minutes. In 5 minutes, check breast meat temperature using an instant-read thermometer. The ideal temperature to remove it is when white meat reads 150 to 154 F and dark meat reads 165 to 175 F. If necessary, place back in oven an additional 5 to 10 minutes until it reaches this temperature. Breast meat temperature rises about 2 degrees every minute in oven at this temperature.

Add as much pan drippings to remaining stock as you can without getting sauce too salty. Stir the cornstarch into 1/4 cup cold water and stir it into stock-drippings mixture in a large saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens.

Allow chicken to stand at least 15 minutes after removing from oven so juices will settle back into meat and not be lost during carving. Carve or partially carve chicken and arrange back in bird form on serving platter. Pass hot gravy in a separate bowl.

Makes about 6 to 8 servings.
— Recipe from "Cookwise," by Shirley Corriher.