How to Bake a Chicken

I have already written an article entitled How to Roast a Chicken, which is what you are really doing when you “bake” a chicken. Essentially baking and roasting are the same thing, but baking is supposed to refer to baked goods—things with flour in them like bread, cakes, pies, cookies, etc.--whereas roasting is what we do to meat and vegetables. The exception being ham, as we don't roast ham, we bake it. But it's the exception, not the rule.

Moreover this is the kind of thing that only people like myself care about. And that is why I decided to write this article, even though it goes against my better judgment. I know that some of you are missing out on reading my work because you are searching for baked chicken instead of roasted chicken. But I don't hold it against you, mostly because you are helping me add content to my website. Plus I am using a different recipe for this article than the one I used for how to roast chicken. And I like this one better. So enjoy.

Chicken Roasted with Herbs, Butter, Salt, and Lime

1. Clean the chicken and preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. For this article I am using a pastured chicken I picked up at the farmers market. Pastured means that the chicken lived outside in a pasture for part of its life—roughly the last half. Chickens live very short lives, but at least part of it was spent outside and not cooped up in a little cage. This chicken is also free of hormones and antibiotics. Give it a quick rinse under cool running water. Then pat it dry with disposable paper towels.
2. Rub the chicken inside and out with herbs and spices. The rub I am using here is a mixture of melted butter, lime juice, salt, black pepper, and Herbes de Provence. Use your fingers to lift up the skin from the meat. Then brush the seasoning thoroughly throughout the whole chicken. If you are really tricky, you can even get the flavorings under the skin by the legs. Also, don't forget about the neck cavity and the inside of the bird itself.
3. Truss the bird and put in the middle of a roasting pan. Trussing is a way of tying the bird together with butcher's twine. Professionals use a large needle called a trussing needle to sew the bird's limbs to the body. But no fear; you don't need to go buy a trussing needle. Just tie the legs together and tuck the wings underneath. Don't worry if you don't feel like trussing your chicken, as it is not required. It just looks better. Put the chicken in the oven on the bottom rack and set the timer for 20 minutes.
4. After 20 minutes, check the chicken. Remove the pan from the oven and loosely cover the chicken with aluminum foil. Reduce the oven heat to 350 degrees F. If you have a digital thermometer with a detachable probe, stick that in the thickest part of the breast meat. Set the temperature alarm for 161 degrees F and put the bird back in the oven. If you don't have the fancy thermometer, set the timer for 45 minutes. After the time is up, check the internal temperature. You are looking for a final temp of 161. Don't forget to let the finished chicken rest loosely covered for 15 minutes before you carve it.

Tips for Roasting/Baking Chicken

• Let the cooked chicken rest lightly covered with an aluminum foil tent for 15‒20 minutes before you carve it. Cutting too early will result in drying out your chicken.
• Stuffing the chicken will increase the cooking time, which may dry out the meat.
• Save the bones and skin for making chicken stock later. Just pop them in a bag and throw them in the freezer.
• A digital thermometer with a detachable probe is the best way to roast meat. You don't have to open the oven to know what temperature the inside of the meat is. And when the target temperature is reached, it will tell you.
• Don't forget to make gravy out of the drippings in the bottom of the pan.