Wishbone Roast Chicken with Herb Butter
This dish calls for a low-maintenence trip to the grocery store.
The butter should be soft but pliable.
Merrill starts making her way under the skin of the bird. Take your time -- the skin just needs to loosen from the meat and there's no hurrying it.
Merrill makes progress -- looks like she's pulling up the chicken's shirt.
After the butter, you slip in some sliced shallot.
"Merrill, you missed a spot." "Mind your own beeswax."
If you're persistent like Merrill, you can even reach all the way up to the chicken's drumsticks and slip some butter in there, too.
Merrill seasons the bird while Amanda lines up chives like only true virgos can do.
Amanda makes the herb butter, by mashing softened butter with chopped parsley, chives and salt. Monkeymom says you can use other herbs, as well. We'd think about rosemary and thyme.
Amanda dropped the butter onto a sheet of plastic wrap, then began forming it into a log.
Voila!
The bird then loses all its dignity as it's placed atop the tube pan. Then into the oven it goes and that's that!
This is what happens when you're so busy chatting that you forget you left the instant-read thermometer in the chicken. Guess the chicken is done...?
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Author Notes: As I was slicing into this chicken, I suddenly remembered this story: one day my daughter excitedly said to her preschool teacher “Guess what? Chickens have a game inside them and it’s called a wishbone! Wishbones are good because you can make wishes on them.” The teacher said “I’ve played the wishbone game before with my mom. Did you cook the wishbone first?” My daughter replied “Yeah, we had to cook the wishbone and then the game is better … way better!”
To cook those wishbone chickens, I use the tube insert of my tube pan, which settles neatly inside my 9 inch cake pan. Cooking it standing up means I don’t have to turn the bird this way and that during the roasting to get a nice crispy skin. The chicken itself is inspired by a restaurant in Carmel (now replaced by a chain restaurant) that served a succulent rotisserie chicken with a flavorful herb butter. Does a perfectly roasted bird need such an embellishment? Some may argue not, but all I can say is that I have never forgotten that dish and often long for that butter while eating other perfectly fine roasted chickens. - monkeymom
- monkeymom
Food52 Review: This recipe with its unassuming 5 ingredients caught our eye for its use of simple techniques to achieve a flavorful bird with crisp skin. Monkeymom has thought a lot about roasting chicken: she has you tuck shallots and butter under the skin, season the bird and then let it rest in the fridge, uncovered, for 8 hours. The butter keeps the meat moist and the air-drying in the fridge ensures a crackly skin. She also came up with an ingenious way to replicate the verticle roasting in "beer can chicken," in which the chicken sits on top of a beer can while it grills. For her brilliant adaptation, she sets the chicken on the tube part of a tube pan. The verticle positioning allows the fat to drip off the bird while it cooks, and we think it does a great job of helping to cook the bird evenly, as every part is equally exposed to the oven heat. And did we mention that the finished bird is then served with an herb butter? Herb butter gets us every time. - A&M
Serves 4-6
Wishbone Chicken
- 3-4 pounds chicken
- 2 tablespoons softened butter
- 1 shallot, sliced thinly
- salt and pepper
Herb Butter
- 1/4 cup softened butter
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon finely minced parsley
- 1 teaspoon finely minced chives
- (you can vary the herbs to what you prefer. Chervil, thyme, lemon zest, cayenne, etc. One bird, many options for flavoring)
- Wash and dry chicken. Using your hand, spread softened butter under skin on breasts, especially the part near the neck. Put shallots under skin all around. Sprinkle pepper, then salt the bird very generously all over. The key to a crispy skin is a dry bird, plenty of salt, and a hot oven. Place in refrigerator, uncovered, for 8 hours to overnight.
- For herb butter, soften the butter and add the other ingredients. Mash with fork to mix thoroughly, then scrape into saran wrap. Wrap up the butter to form a tube and chill in refrigerator.
- To roast chicken, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Use only one rack, placed in the bottom slot of your oven.
- Place chicken feet side down on tube insert that is placed into a 9 in cake pan. This forms a stable base that will catch the drippings without leaking out. Tuck wing tips behind the neck and pull the legs out to separate them from the breast. This helps them cook a little faster so the breast won’t dry out. If the skin has torn or is short, you can use a toothpick and pin it to the bottom end of the breast. Place the bird into oven and roast for 55 minutes (my chicken was a little under 4 lbs and was cooked perfectly at this time.)
- Remove nicely browned chicken from oven. Let rest on tube while preparing the rest of your dinner.
- Slice legs from bird, then carve breasts from bones. Be careful not to cut the wishbone, which is near the neck cavity on the front top of the breast! I’ve disappointed my kids many times by accidently breaking the wishbone prematurely. Pick off the goodies from the rest of the bird and share them with your favorite helper(s).
- Slice the herb butter and serve with the carved chicken. A little dab of butter on the chicken goes a long way.
- Play wishbone game.
- Your Best Roast Chicken Contest Winner!
Tags: comfort food, Entrees, family, Five Ingredients or Fewer, Holidays, kid-friendly, leftovers
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4 months ago marydtoombs
I'm not sure where this idea came from, but when I make herb butter, I always add a generous squeeze of a fresh lemon or lime. Somehow it takes that butter over the top in flavor. This chicken-on-a-tube-pan sounds SO delish. Can't wait to make it.
7 months ago AnnieHynes
what is a tube pan?
4 months ago marydtoombs
http://askville.amazon...
(don't use the fluted kind, it's really a bundt cake pan) Some tube pans have a removable tube part, some do not. It's for easy removal of the cake (usually angel food cake).
7 months ago AnnieHynes
what is a tube pan?
7 months ago AnnieHynes
what is a tube pan?
7 months ago AnnieHynes
what is a tube pan?
over 1 year ago pimimond
I forgot the shallots but it didn't matter. I took the tip to use just the tube pan insert, not the whole pan and my bird got a fantastically golden St. Tropez tan! Moistest and crispiest skin yet, even more so than the Zuni Cafe roast chicken- and a lot less work! Family says YAY!
over 1 year ago WendieW
I use a Spanek Vertical Roaster which allows more even cooking.
over 1 year ago belfman
In the summer I make beer can chicken or as my children like to say "beer butt chicken". I love this concept of roasting in the angel food pan. Just genius! I will try this and use the compound butter idea as well. I miss the "old Carmel" too...
over 1 year ago Maliqks Chef
I made this and added some roasted garlic to the herb butter mixture. So yummy. My cousin's boy, who never wants to eat devoured it!
over 1 year ago Tom Wade
Great idea. tom wade
over 1 year ago Passenger
I made this a while back and am looking forward to making it again once the weather cools down. But last time I made this, I set a bunch of brussels sprouts in the bottom of the pan, letting the butter and juices coat them on their way down from dripping... it was a match made in heaven! And so incredibly easy!
about 2 years ago Cookbook Thief
Cooked this last night and it was a total crowd pleaser. Thank you monkeymom for the great recipe that I will certainly use for years to come. Thank you also to those responses to my Foodpickle question about what to do in the absence of a tube pan. Used an empty aluminium can and filled it 2/3 of the way with white wine, which made a sturdy base and hopefully the white wine added a little something extra to the roasting process.
about 2 years ago clintonhillbilly
Made this for the second time for our family Passover seder, and it was so delcious and moist! Thanks so much for this recipe!
about 2 years ago monkeymom
I'm so happy to hear that! Thanks for the feedback!
almost 3 years ago CAMELOTCOOK
Thanks for the memories this receipe brings.Over 50 years ago my Mother made this using her Angel food pan and used Wild Turkey whiskey mixed with the butter. I miss my mom and her cooking
about 3 years ago NakedBeet
I think this, over any dessert, might push me to get a tube pan! So happy for your win.
about 3 years ago monkeymom
you are hilarious. I can't resist cake. cake and chicken...who would thought they could be unified by a tube pan. Thanks much!
about 3 years ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
I've now made this twice and am totally sold on the method. Here's why. Apart from the amazing crisp skin all over the chicken, and how quickly the chicken roasts (and how evenly, and how tender and juicy the breast meat remains), there a couple of nice benefits I have not seen mentioned, and did not expect. First, I used a 9" pie plate and the juices that ran off actually collected under the bottom of the tube pan component, and did not evaporate, so I had a more pan juices than in a conventional pan, where they would evaporate. Those juices have a lovely buttery flavor too, due to the butter stuffed under the skin. Second, you don't have to remove the chicken from the tube to carve it. I used a filet knife to pull the meat gently off the carcass. That meant there was no cutting board/surface to clean up! There were some cooked pan juices on the tube pan which came off easily a silicone spatula. Then I just rinsed the pie plate and put it in the dishwasher. (I don't ever put any cooking pan in the dishwasher, so this was yet another time saver.) This is, hands down, a first ballot pick for the Food52 Hall of Fame!!
about 3 years ago dymnyno
I'm cooking this tonight!!! Sunday night chicken . thanks for a great recipe.
about 3 years ago monkeymom
Ah, I'm so glad this has worked out so well for you! Indeed, my husband does agree that cleaning our nonstick cake pan and the tube is way easier than other methods I've tried before. The carving trick is cool too! Will have to try it. By the way, think of this as a recipe exchange as we enjoyed your sausage and lentil soup last Wed night!
about 3 years ago monkeymom
dymnyno - hope yours was good too!
about 3 years ago Elycooks
I can't wait to try this, especially the trick with the tube pan. We have roasted chicken at least 3 times a month. I'm all for guilding the lily with the herb butter!
about 3 years ago monkeymom
Let me know what combo of herbs you use!
about 3 years ago arielleclementine
congratulations, monkeymom! i can't wait to try this!
about 3 years ago monkeymom
Thanks arielleclementine! Congrats to you too!
about 3 years ago monkeymom
Thanks to everyone for your good wishes. I love being part of this community!
about 3 years ago TheWimpyVegetarian
Congrats, monkeymom!! I'm so happy for you!