Servings: 5
Preheat: 400
Prep Time: 30 minutes to debone and truss the chicken, which can be done in advance, and 1 hour to bake it.
Source:
This is my recreation of the excellent chicken roti sold by Oliver’s Butchery in San Francisco. The deboning process is not that difficult, and even if the deboning is not perfect, the truss of the bird hides most mistakes. The prep of the chicken can be done well in advance of the baking, so it’s a good (and impressive) dish to serve to company.
I tried placing the bacon horizontally around the bottom of the bird prior to trussing, but I think it works better draped over the top. These instructional videos demonstrate how to debone a whole chicken and truss it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G59cKe9UICY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFIwbUBiRSE
Don’t be afraid. It’s only a chicken.
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken (preferably the non-water-injected organic variety)
Herbes de Provence
4 slices of bacon
Salt and pepper
Butcher’s twine
Directions:
Remove and save the wings for another use. Debone the chicken, taking care not to detach the legs. Sprinkle non-skin side of meat with herbes de Provence, salt, and pepper and gather meat beneath the breast, so that skin side of breast is facing up. Place slices of bacon over the top of the chicken.
Truss the chicken and bacon. At this point, the chicken can be refrigerated for baking later.
Line a cookie tray with aluminum foil. Roast the chicken directly on the foil
1) 43 mins at 400°F
2) 10 mins at 375°F
Check internal temperature with a thermometer. Slice for serving.