For us the perfect roast chicken has meat that is tender, juicy, succulent - that is, roasted just right, neither overdone nor undercooked.
So today I decided to do another roast - as I am still not happy with the Rinnai oven performance. So far I have not gotten a roast that tastes as juicy as the roasts I made with the Bauknet oven.
We will eat the roast today with homemade mashed potato. Yummy!
Preparing the Bird
1 Lucky Chicken, 1.7 kg, $6.60, bought at Sheng Shiong's.
Wash and dry rub 4-5 tbl salt all over the wet chicken, and set aside for 4 hours. Reason for this is that the salt will draw out water in the bird, making for a juicier roast. It is the same reason chefs put the bird in a brine solution for up to 8 hrs.
Wash salt off chicken and pat dry with paper towel.
Marinade
3 tbl hoisin sauce (I use Lee Kum Kee),
2 tbl sesame oil,
2 tbl oyster sauce,
2 tbl honey.
Mix the above ingredients thoroughly in a bowl. Spread the marinade under the chicken skin - start from the skin at the neck / body area. Also spread the marinade inside chicken cavity. Set aside to allow the marinade to permeate and flavor the bird for at least 3-4 hrs, or preferably leave the chicken overnight in the fridge.
Next morning, bring chicken out of the fridge and let rest 30 min to dissipate the chill, before you put the chicken in the hot oven. Put a yellow Australian lemon inside chicken cavity, skin pierced with a fork. Fold the chicken legs inside the cavity. Meanwhile, set oven to 250 deg C / max until 250 deg C reached.
Put bird in oven, breast side down onto the oven stainless steel rack (I don't have a roast rack yet), set the timer to roast for 35 min, and immediately turn oven temp to 175 deg C. Place a casserole with 1-inch water below the chicken rack to catch drippings.
Roast for 35 min, then turn over and roast for another 15 min. Then turn oven temp to 250 deg C and roast for final 2 min.
Total roasting time: 52 minutes.
Let roast rests 30 min before carving. Squeeze the yellow lemon to season the inside of the chicken.
Oh yes - I've been wanting to get a roast rack for my roasts, but haven't found one in local outlets that appealed to me. Especially as I'm unsure the specific product will work as the sales staff said it would - once bitten, twice shy!
So normally I would surf the Amazon site to find good buys, principally due to the customer reviews I get. Which by and large are quite honest and accurate. The Williams Bounds Silicon-coated roast rack depicted on the left, for instance, gets rave reviews from customers, because its silicon-coat makes cleanup a breeze, and it's priced reasonably!
I will order one in the near future - as soon as I get enough other items to consolidate to make shipping charges reasonable via VPOST. Do send me an email me if you wish to join me in purchasing the item, ok?
Roasting Outcome & Taste
Bird has a nice roasted color.
Meat is tasty, juicy, succulent, finally achieving the degree of roast similar to that in the Bauknet oven !!
However, skin is not as crisp as we would have liked. In future, will maintain total roasting time at 52 min but perhaps say roast for 10 min at 220 deg C at the end, instead of 2 min at 250 deg C as in this roast.
Mashed Potato
Peel and quarter lengthwise 3 potatoes. This is enough for 2 persons. Put in a pot, cover with water until 1/2 inch over the potatoes, add in 1 ts salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 10-15 min i.e. until the potatoes are soft - use a fork to test.
Drain well, then put back on the stove under low heat to dry out the wet potatoes. Take care not to burn the potatoes.
Add softened butter, about 1 tbl. Add salt to taste - about 1/2 to 3/4 ts. Mash with a spoon, adding about 4-5 tbl fresh milk or cream to achieve the consistency you like. Usually pepper is added too, but for me I had to omit the pepper.
Serve immediately.
Note: Tastes nice with bacon bits. Or use a tasty gravy.
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