The Art of Roasted Chicken: A Culinary Journey Inspired by Chef Jacques Pepin

As we embark on this culinary journey, it's essential to start with the basics. When it comes to roasting chicken, many people are unsure about how to prepare it to achieve that perfect balance of flavors and textures. In this article, we'll explore the techniques and tips shared by a renowned chef who has mastered the art of roasted chicken.

Fully Boned Out: The Importance of Skin

When preparing a whole chicken for roasting, it's crucial to fully debone it, ensuring that all the bones are exposed. This allows for maximum flavor distribution and helps create a crispy skin on the outside. As our chef notes, "You want as much skin hitting that pan and getting all crispy." The skin is the key to achieving that golden-brown color and satisfying crunch we all crave.

A New Technique: Deboning with Care

Our chef reveals that deboning can be a complex process, but don't worry; with practice and patience, you'll master it. To debone a chicken, ask your butcher for help. They'll guide you through the process, leaving you with beautifully deboned bones. This technique may seem intimidating at first, but trust us, it's worth the effort.

Seasoning: The Key to Unlocking Flavors

When seasoning the chicken, our chef emphasizes the importance of applying flavor on both sides. On the flesh side, a light dusting of black pepper is sufficient, as this side won't be visible. However, the skin side requires a more substantial amount of salt and a dry coating of flour or starch to enhance browning. This step may seem simple, but it's crucial in creating that perfect balance of flavors.

The Pan: A Smoking Hot Surface

To achieve that perfectly roasted chicken, our chef stresses the importance of using a hot pan. The pan should be smoldering hot before adding the chicken, allowing for an even sear on all sides. A small amount of oil is essential to create a flavorful crust. Our chef explains, "You want it to be like this – smoking hot." With the pan preheated and ready, our chef carefully places the chicken inside, ensuring it's evenly coated with the seasoning.

The Art of Pressing: A Technique for Perfection

As the chicken cooks, pressing down gently on the meat helps create an even sear. This technique is crucial in preventing the formation of uneven brown spots on the surface. Our chef refers to this as "meat sweats," a visual cue that indicates the chicken is cooking evenly.

Inspiration from Chef Jacques Pepin

The inspiration for our roasted chicken recipe comes from none other than the legendary chef Jacques Pepin. Growing up, we were fascinated by his show and technique. One episode in particular caught our attention – a beautifully broken-down chicken. We were captivated by the way he effortlessly transformed a whole bird into tender, juicy meat. From that moment on, we knew we had to try our hand at cooking like him.

A Korean-Style Soy Glaze: Adding Depth and Spice

Our roasted chicken recipe incorporates a traditional Korean-style soy glaze, which adds an essential layer of depth and spice to the dish. The sauce is made with soy sauce, corn syrup, Korean chili paste, and a touch of sweetness. This harmonious balance of flavors elevates the entire dish, making it truly unforgettable.

The Final Touches: Straining and Brushing

As the chicken finishes cooking, our chef carefully strains the pan juices to create a rich, flavorful sauce. The sauce is then brushed onto the crispy skin, protecting its integrity while adding an extra layer of flavor. This delicate touch ensures that every bite is filled with that perfect balance of flavors.

The Result: A Masterpiece

With these techniques and tips, we're confident that our roasted chicken recipe will become a staple in your culinary repertoire. The combination of perfectly seared skin, juicy meat, and savory sauce makes for a truly unforgettable dining experience. Whether you're an experienced chef or a beginner cook, this recipe is sure to inspire and delight.

**Recipe: Korean-Style Soy Glazed Roasted Chicken**

Ingredients:

* 1 whole chicken (fully deboned)

* 2 tbsp soy sauce

* 1 tbsp corn syrup

* 2 tbsp Korean chili paste (gochujang)

* 1 tsp sugar

* Salt and pepper to taste

* Black pepper for the flesh side of the chicken

* Flour or starch for dry coating the skin

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C).

2. Season the chicken with black pepper on the flesh side.

3. Coat the skin side with a mixture of salt and flour or starch.

4. Heat oil in a hot pan over medium heat until smoking hot.

5. Place the chicken in the pan, ensuring even coverage with seasoning.

6. Press down gently on the meat to achieve an even sear.

7. Roast the chicken for 8-12 minutes or until cooked through.

8. Strain the pan juices and mix with soy sauce, corn syrup, Korean chili paste, and sugar.

9. Brush the sauce onto the crispy skin, protecting its integrity while adding extra flavor.

**Tips and Variations:**

* For an added layer of flavor, try adding aromatics like onions, carrots, and celery to the pan before cooking the chicken.

* If you prefer a crisper skin, increase the oven temperature to 425°F (220°C) for the last 5-7 minutes of cooking.

Embark on this culinary journey with confidence, knowing that with practice and patience, you'll master the art of roasted chicken. Bon appétit!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enoh it spicy it's gonna be good though it's gotta mellow out when it cooks hey guys my name is Dukie hyung of the sundae restaurant in San Francisco today I'm gonna make you Korean fried chicken that we're gonna do a little bit differently we're gonna do it in the pan instead of deep-frying this is a whole chicken I think this recipe is great because we get to use the full bird a lot of people kind of forget about the wishbone but this is actually the wishbone you want to take this out to make carving easier this technique does it legendary chef Jack a pan he debones this whole bird while keeping the whole bird intact actually I think my record was 45 seconds really simply I split the back dislocate to joint and just pull go to the other side just dislocated two joint pull and then you come down all the way to the oyster which is this little beautiful meat right over here that make sure you get and then you're go to your thigh you break the thigh and then you are free so that's one side this side same way termi thigh bone you just removed the carcass body right and this we're gonna roast and incorporate into our sauce to kind of really fortify that chicken flavor this is actually my favorite way to have any pan-fried chicken it's a beautiful way to have boneless and bone-in you got bone in here you got boneless here the less complicated just cutting it up into eight pieces but this is good so this is what your chicken should look like right so it's fully boned out you have all the skin intact so you want as much skin hitting that pan and getting all crispy I love the flavor of roasted chicken bones there's a lot of people that don't know what to do with these except stock which is great but you could also gross your bones and put it right in your sauce and then strain it out at the end obvious now she could obviously that was I don't want to it was complicated but it's a probably a newer technique if that's something that you're afraid to do definitely ask your butcher he or she will definitely know how to do it and just ask for it debone Berk and then you can start from here so key here is seasoning it heavily on the flesh side and then there's a skin side right so I only put black pepper on the flesh side because it's not the presentation side and the skin side I just salt and then I have some flour just to dry out that skin it could be starch they could be flour wheat flour today another way to do it if you don't have flour is just leaving your fridge for a couple hours so it should look like this kind of nice and dry yeah and you want that pan smoking hot like this is the definition of smoking hot you're going to go in like this make sure it's laying out and it's a little oil bath get it in there it probably takes about 8 to 12 minutes you do want to reduce it right when you put it in probably about to medium heat and just kind of let it go after we press it the chicken will start whitening on the side midgets cooking right it's kind of what you're looking for I call it meat sweats when like there's like chicken juice on top - that's kind of a visual cue I'm gonna put something heavy just to press that chicken right so I'm just gonna prep some of the veg I don't see the mushrooms this recipe was inspired by a chef Jacques Pepin when I was really young kind of started 1415 I used to watch his show and I guess that's kind of how I got into cooking he was breaking down this chicken I had never seen anybody break down chicken that way so I was like one day I'm gonna use that chicken but kind of do it my way so this is like an O Maj to chef Jacques Pepin his technique but my flavors and kind of my style so I should get the sauce going huh this sauce is a very traditional Korean spicy soy glaze about 1/2 cup of soy um the corn syrup to give it that viscosity and that beautiful Sheen some Korean chili pepper paste culture jump recipes actually it's just a list of ingredients so for you taste it you like spicy do you like more soy you like it sweeter just trust your palate let's get the let's get it cranked in how are you doing chicken how are you doing buddy that's a beauty that's a beauty just keep going whoa baby look at this this is the color we want I think the bones the fat the skin is letting it go and that's gonna turn into a beautiful sauce I'm gonna add a couple of tight chilies so I want some spice element to this that's a lot of chili that has to go for a little bit that's where's that our that y'all gave me look at this this is me and Matt Roberts cookbook Korea Tom it's a good cookbook should buy it it's $19 one Amazon I think that's the guy we just let it go I'm going slow nice and crispy getting a couple of these in there that's gonna be good oh-ho-ho baby it's gonna be really good this we're just gonna go in the oven and just kind of let it go low and slow are you doing sauce we got all we can from the bones so we're gonna strain it out so it's a sauce that we can brush on we spent all this time getting a crispy skin I don't want to ruin that by just dumping liquid on it it's just to protect the integrity of the skin that's a good word that I used beautiful so it's all coming together and we're ready to play beautiful song shaking love that chicken love kind of a random couple of breast pieces all that on there you get all fancy schmancy it's delicious look at that guy that's I think that's the guy this looks good and then I think my favorite part the thigh mmm crispy skin sweet spicy sauce and super super super juicy meat that's what it's all about I feel like right for the recipe click below you guys know where to click because they watch a couple of these before click click the recipe below yeah everyone points like so yes do that make the recipeoh it spicy it's gonna be good though it's gotta mellow out when it cooks hey guys my name is Dukie hyung of the sundae restaurant in San Francisco today I'm gonna make you Korean fried chicken that we're gonna do a little bit differently we're gonna do it in the pan instead of deep-frying this is a whole chicken I think this recipe is great because we get to use the full bird a lot of people kind of forget about the wishbone but this is actually the wishbone you want to take this out to make carving easier this technique does it legendary chef Jack a pan he debones this whole bird while keeping the whole bird intact actually I think my record was 45 seconds really simply I split the back dislocate to joint and just pull go to the other side just dislocated two joint pull and then you come down all the way to the oyster which is this little beautiful meat right over here that make sure you get and then you're go to your thigh you break the thigh and then you are free so that's one side this side same way termi thigh bone you just removed the carcass body right and this we're gonna roast and incorporate into our sauce to kind of really fortify that chicken flavor this is actually my favorite way to have any pan-fried chicken it's a beautiful way to have boneless and bone-in you got bone in here you got boneless here the less complicated just cutting it up into eight pieces but this is good so this is what your chicken should look like right so it's fully boned out you have all the skin intact so you want as much skin hitting that pan and getting all crispy I love the flavor of roasted chicken bones there's a lot of people that don't know what to do with these except stock which is great but you could also gross your bones and put it right in your sauce and then strain it out at the end obvious now she could obviously that was I don't want to it was complicated but it's a probably a newer technique if that's something that you're afraid to do definitely ask your butcher he or she will definitely know how to do it and just ask for it debone Berk and then you can start from here so key here is seasoning it heavily on the flesh side and then there's a skin side right so I only put black pepper on the flesh side because it's not the presentation side and the skin side I just salt and then I have some flour just to dry out that skin it could be starch they could be flour wheat flour today another way to do it if you don't have flour is just leaving your fridge for a couple hours so it should look like this kind of nice and dry yeah and you want that pan smoking hot like this is the definition of smoking hot you're going to go in like this make sure it's laying out and it's a little oil bath get it in there it probably takes about 8 to 12 minutes you do want to reduce it right when you put it in probably about to medium heat and just kind of let it go after we press it the chicken will start whitening on the side midgets cooking right it's kind of what you're looking for I call it meat sweats when like there's like chicken juice on top - that's kind of a visual cue I'm gonna put something heavy just to press that chicken right so I'm just gonna prep some of the veg I don't see the mushrooms this recipe was inspired by a chef Jacques Pepin when I was really young kind of started 1415 I used to watch his show and I guess that's kind of how I got into cooking he was breaking down this chicken I had never seen anybody break down chicken that way so I was like one day I'm gonna use that chicken but kind of do it my way so this is like an O Maj to chef Jacques Pepin his technique but my flavors and kind of my style so I should get the sauce going huh this sauce is a very traditional Korean spicy soy glaze about 1/2 cup of soy um the corn syrup to give it that viscosity and that beautiful Sheen some Korean chili pepper paste culture jump recipes actually it's just a list of ingredients so for you taste it you like spicy do you like more soy you like it sweeter just trust your palate let's get the let's get it cranked in how are you doing chicken how are you doing buddy that's a beauty that's a beauty just keep going whoa baby look at this this is the color we want I think the bones the fat the skin is letting it go and that's gonna turn into a beautiful sauce I'm gonna add a couple of tight chilies so I want some spice element to this that's a lot of chili that has to go for a little bit that's where's that our that y'all gave me look at this this is me and Matt Roberts cookbook Korea Tom it's a good cookbook should buy it it's $19 one Amazon I think that's the guy we just let it go I'm going slow nice and crispy getting a couple of these in there that's gonna be good oh-ho-ho baby it's gonna be really good this we're just gonna go in the oven and just kind of let it go low and slow are you doing sauce we got all we can from the bones so we're gonna strain it out so it's a sauce that we can brush on we spent all this time getting a crispy skin I don't want to ruin that by just dumping liquid on it it's just to protect the integrity of the skin that's a good word that I used beautiful so it's all coming together and we're ready to play beautiful song shaking love that chicken love kind of a random couple of breast pieces all that on there you get all fancy schmancy it's delicious look at that guy that's I think that's the guy this looks good and then I think my favorite part the thigh mmm crispy skin sweet spicy sauce and super super super juicy meat that's what it's all about I feel like right for the recipe click below you guys know where to click because they watch a couple of these before click click the recipe below yeah everyone points like so yes do that make the recipe\n"