Jacques Pepin’s Basic Roast Chicken

By Jacques Pépin

Updated October 10, 2023

  • Craig Lee for The New York Times
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
55 minutes
Prep Time
3 minutes
Cook Time
50 minutes
Rating
5(1,632)
Comments
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Changing a meal’s status requires more than a change of name, but not much more. Roast chicken is still roast chicken whether you label it haute cuisine, bourgeois cuisine or country cooking; even calling it “poulet roti” will not transmogrify this simple bird. Move, however, from the kitchen to the dining room and from everyday dishes to fine china, then add an appetizer and dessert, and a family meal becomes a festive dinner for guests.

Featured in: The Chicken Dinner, Both Humble and Noble

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • 1 3 ½-pound chicken

  • Salt and ground pepper to taste

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

1 gram carbs; 298 milligrams cholesterol; 856 calories; 25 grams monosaturated fat; 13 grams polyunsaturated fat; 17 grams saturated fat; 60 grams fat; 1015 milligrams sodium; 74 grams protein

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Sprinkle the chicken inside and out with the salt and pepper and fold the wings akimbo to position them closer to the body. Place the chicken on its side in an oven-safe skillet, preferably cast-iron.

  2. Step 2

    Place the chicken in the skillet in the oven and cook for 20 minutes, then turn the chicken over and cook another 20 minutes. (By cooking the chicken on its sides, the juices stay in the breast and, since only the back is exposed, the chicken does not need constant basting.) Finally, turn the chicken onto its back, baste it with the cooking juices and continue to cook 10 minutes. It should be golden in color.

  3. Step 3

    When the chicken is cooked, cut it into pieces and serve, with the drippings on the side.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
1,632 user ratings
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Comments

John

There is better recipie, where you salt and pepper chicken, put it in cast iron pan at 500 degrees for 15 minutes than turn the oven down to 350 for about 90 minutes. Come out great everytime. Can put herbs, lemons, onions etc in the cavity. Best recipie for roast chicken I know of

EK OConnor

Since using this roasting method, I have had the juiciest chicken breasts and crispier skin than has resulted from other methods.

For those concerned about the chicken sticking, one tip I use is to quarter an onion and lemon and put it in the lightly oiled pan in the oven under the chicken. It keeps the chicken from sticking and makes for delicious notes in the juices in the bottom of the pan afterward.

Clyde

The best tip I ever got about roasting chicken was to dry it completely inside and out. Really, really dry! That way there is almost no moisture in the oven and the skin stays crisper. Works like a charm...

P.S

I’ve been doing this with my chickens for years and years thanks to JP. They were always great. Now that I live in Paris, it’s way better. Nothing better than a poulet fermier jaune cooked using Jacques Pepin’s method.

Julian

This is the best recipe for roast chicken I’ve ever tried. My family really does not like rubbery/unevenly cooked chicken and this came out perfectly. I preheated the oven with cast iron skillet inside, brushed the bird with butter, then transferred to hot skillet before placing in oven. My timing was 25, 20, 10 at 425. Rested for 10-15 mins. Made a quick pan sauce with the drippings and this was a hit that I’ll definitely do again and is easy to riff on.

CM

This method works well. Turning the chicken in the hit roaring pan was a bit daunting but I used two wooden spoons stuck into each end of the chicken cavity. The chicken is absolutely delicious with crispy skin. I semi-brined mine overnight with salt and a little lemon juice overnight. Fresh herbs, garlic cloves and half a lemon stuffed into the cavity. Very flavoursome.

Durk

@CM, I removed the chicken from the oven to turn, and then replaced it in the oven. So much easier.

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