Skills Set I: The Roasted Chicken

Photo: SassyRadish/Flickr

Photo: SassyRadish/Flickr

I started cooking somewhat late….in college.  Ok let me be honest– a few years after college.  Let’s just say my skills set is a bit weak.  I also know I’m not the only one…many folks ask me for more instructional posts and  for this reason, I want to dedicate some time on PRK to the basic and not-so-basic skills of cooking and baking like julienne-ing vegetables, braiding bread, and today: attempting to understand the chicken.

For some of you, roasting a chicken might be old hat.  For many of us, it’s an unspoken embarrassment: WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT WE’RE DOING.

I’ve scoured the blogosphere for some fantastic instructions and I came across a great post from fellow Boston Blogger, Helen Rennie. Beyond Salmon goes there and breaks down these monumental walls of cooking fear into tiny, itty, bitty pieces.  Let’s start with that chicken and see where it takes us.

Tell US: What do you want to learn?  We’ll make it happen.

This entry was posted in Public Radio Kitchen on by .

About

Associate Producer, Here & Now Most recently, Jessica worked as an associate producer at WBUR's daily local program, Radio Boston. Jessica moved to Boston in 2008 and has lived many places since leaving her native Texas. After graduating from college, Jessica worked as a federal employee, documentary film festival producer, oral historian, university teaching assistant, traveling saleswoman and klezmer musician. Her work and projects have appeared in The Washington Post, The Christian Science Monitor, Bust, Barnard Magazine, National Public Radio, Public Radio International (PRI), and the BBC. Jessica's freelance radio work has received various awards including accolades from the Religion Newswriters Association and the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma. As a Fulbright Scholar in El Salvador, Jessica collected and studied oral histories from the Jewish Community based in San Salvador. Jessica received her B.A. in political science from Columbia University’s Barnard College and her M.A. in history from Indiana University. She learned how to make radio from the phenomenal folks at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. Jessica lives in Somerville with her husband, twin son and daughter, and two cats. To learn more about Jessica’s projects, both current and past, please visit www.jessicaalpert.com.

2 thoughts on “Skills Set I: The Roasted Chicken”

  1. Chris

    I love to roast a chicken but I hate to truss a chicken. What i usually end up doing is make two holes near the cavity opening, and tucking the leg ends in so they sit close to the bird. Also i find that the most important step is raising the bird up out of its own juices. I like to use a bed of mirepoix, but you could use a roasting rack.

    I’d love to know how to make that crispy skinned bird in a cast iron skillet (pictured above). That looks tasty. (^_^)

  2. Pingback: What do I do with it: Cooking Blog « Idyllwildfarm Blog