High-Roasted Butterflied Chicken With Herbs and Porcini Mushroom

This a combination recipe from Cook's Illustrated. It is sinfully delicious! The porcini mushrooms add a unique earthy, smoky flavor. I personally didn't brine the chicken because it already had a saline solution injection. I also didn't make the potatoes with it, but will try that next time. Although there seems to be a lot of steps, it's not really all that difficult for amazing results! Th skin is absolutely beautiful and crisp. Show more

Ready In: 2 hrs

Serves: 4

Yields: 1 chicken

Ingredients

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Directions

  1. Dissolve salt and sugar in 2 quarts cold water in large container. Immerse chicken and refrigerate until fully seasoned, about 1 hour.
  2. Meanwhile, In small bowl, cover mushrooms with boiling water; let stand until mushrooms soften, about 15 minutes. Using fork, lift mushrooms from liquid and chop fine.
  3. In small bowl, mix porcini, thyme, rosemary, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and butter until combined.
  4. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 500 degrees. Line bottom of broiler pan with foil and spray with nonstick vegetable cooking spray.
  5. Remove chicken from brine and rinse thoroughly under cold running water. Butterfly chicken, flatten breastbone with palm of hand.
  6. Slip your fingers between skin and breast, loosening the membrane.
  7. Scoop some of the butter onto a spoon, slide it under breast skin, and spread by pushing on top of skin with your fingers.
  8. Work butter under skin to cover breast evenly. Repeat with each drumstick and thigh.
  9. Position chicken on broiler pan rack; thoroughly pat dry with paper towels.
  10. Toss potatoes with 1 tablespoon oil, salt, and pepper to taste in medium bowl. Spread potatoes in even layer in foil-lined broiler pan bottom.
  11. Place broiler pan rack with chicken on top. Rub chicken with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil and sprinkle with pepper.
  12. Roast chicken until spotty brown, about 20 minutes.
  13. Rotate pan and continue to roast until skin has crisped and turned a deep brown and an instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees in thickest part of breast, 20 to 25 minutes longer.
  14. Transfer chicken to cutting board.
  15. With potholders, remove broiler pan rack; soak up excess grease from potatoes with several sheets paper towels. Remove foil liner with potatoes from broiler pan bottom and invert foil and potatoes onto cookie sheet or second cutting board. Carefully peel back foil, using a metal spatula to help scrape potatoes off foil as needed. With additional paper towels, pat off remaining grease.
  16. Cut chicken into serving pieces and serve with potatoes.
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