Easy Skillet Roast Chicken Recipe

Take Chicken Out of Package, Remove Giblet Bag, and Pat Dry w/ Paper Towel

Take a knife and remove excess fat around the thighs and towards the neck.

This excess fat won’t render and won’t crisp up.

Take your hand and put it under the chicken skin to separate the membrane from the chicken. Be careful when doing this and don’t tear the chicken skin.

Make My Rosemary Salt to Season With

If you don’t have these ingredients, just use 2 tsp of Diamond crystal Kosher salt or 1 tsp of regular table salt.

Combine in a bowl:

• 1 cup Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
• 4 teaspoons dried, crushed rosemary
• 1.5 teaspoon dried, crushed thyme
• 1.5 teaspoon dehydrated minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon dehydrated lemon peel

Then season the exterior, under the chicken skin, and inside the cavity of the bird with roughly ~2 tsp* for a 2.5 lb bird.

Save the rest of the seasoning for later – it goes good with everything.

Put the chicken in your refrigerator to dry brine on a wire rack for at least 2 hours – I did 2 days.

*This 2 tsp is found via my dry brine calculator using a 0.5% brine.

Optionally: Truss the Bird

There are a bunch of ways to truss, this is how I’ve always done it – except I don’t bother with the wishbone or the wingtip removal.

This method tucks the wings under the bird, keeps the cavity closed, and exposes more of the skin on the breast.

Preheat Oven Based on YOUR Oven Type

When you preheat your oven – if you have a setting for “Bake, Convection Roast”, use it and preheat to 425F.

If your oven doesn’t have this setting, set your oven to 450F instead.

Heat an Oven-safe Skillet Over Medium-ish Heat

Add 1 tbsp of unsalted butter and allow it to melt in the pan until frothing .

Take 1 tbsp of olive oil or similar fat (like tallow, bacon grease, butter, etc.) and use a basting brush to brush onto all sides of the chicken.

Once the butter is frothing, put chicken in the skillet, breast side up for ~2-4 minutes.

Then put the skillet in the oven.

BUT If You Prefer Your Thigh Meat More Done (185F+)

After doing the above, turn the chicken on edge with the breast elevated so that the chicken thigh is being seared – do this for ~2-4 minutes or until slightly browned..

Repeat on the other side.

Then put the roast, breast side up in the skillet and transfer to your oven.

If you opt not to do this, the chicken thigh should finish @ around 175F internal when the breast is 155F.

The meat will still be juicy, just less tender.

Turn the Chicken While it’s Roasting

Every 15 minutes or so, turn the skillet; If you notice some spots are finishing faster than others, rotate the pan accordingly.

After 45 minutes check the internal temperature.

It took 65 minutes for the breast to reach ~155F at the thickest point.

Take out of the pan to rest on a wire rack for 20-30 minutes.

Note: While resting, do not tent with foil; This will only cause the skin to turn more soggy than if you left it alone.

The temperature won’t drop, it will rise about 7-10F, meaning it’s safe to eat and more juicy than if we pulled at 165F and then rested.

While Chicken Rests, Make a Pan Sauce

Take the same pan you used for the chicken and use a paper towel to remove excess fat/oil.

Add the following to the pan:

• 1 cup of Chicken stock or broth
• 1/4 tsp dried, crushed rosemary
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp Soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Use a wooden spoon to scrape the fond from your skillet while this mixture is simmering for ~5-7 minutes.

Combine in a separate bowl:

• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp water

Mix until there are no clumps and then slowly mix into your pan sauce – stirring the sauce as you do so.

On contact the sauce will start to thicken up; You want to keep stirring and heating until it’s at your desired consistency.

Taste and then season with salt to taste.

If the sauce gelatinizes too much, add more stock/broth/or warm water until it’s thinned again.

Then carve the chicken and serve with your sauce.

Enjoy!