How To Roast A Pasture-Raised Chicken
The pastured chicken is a very different animal than the battery (or caged) chicken, because it has more musculature. Obviously, an animal that has had access to exercise and can scratch in the dirt will have a very different kind of meat because it will have very different leg, thigh and breast meat structure. The recent craze for high-roasted chickens (450° for a shorter period of time) is fine for a battery or caged chicken but will not work for a pastured bird; the muscles simply freeze up and you end up with a chicken-shaped hockey puck. For the pastured bird you need to cook "low and slow".
First, you will want to slowly defrost the bird. Two full days in the refrigerator will do the job nicely.
Then wash the bird, remove any giblets etc., from the body cavity, and (if necessary) trim the neck bones back to the main body of the bird.
Dry the bird inside and out, and preheat the oven to 300°.
Use a large roasting pan and a rack, and place the bird either breast up or back up, depending on your preference.
At this point you can decide how you will season the bird. You can use fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, parsley, etc.), salt and pepper, garlic, and a quartered lemon in the cavity. You could also use onions and almost any other spices you might desire.
After stuffing the interior cavity, tuck the legs under the fat flap or tie them up, and then dress the outside of the bird with olive oil or butter and salt and pepper. You can also dust with other ground spices, from a South Asian mix to humble paprika.
Put the bird in the preheated oven and forget about it for 2 hours.
You do not have to baste (you can, of course, if you want) and some people prefer to turn the bird over midway through cooking.
The bird is finished when the leg bones are flexible and the thigh juices run clear after puncture with a sharp knife. This usually takes two hours.
TIP: If you want a crispier skin you can turn the heat up to 400° for the last 20 minutes of the cooking time. Remove the bird from the oven and allow it to rest for 20 minutes before carving.
TIP: You can place potatoes and root vegetables in the roasting pan with the bird, serve with a fresh salad and you have a simple, healthy and delicious dinner.
