Regime Type:
PKD (With Allowances), Without Eggs
Cold Start Roast Chicken
Introduction & Inspiration
The French Cooking Academy has a great technique for roasting a chicken in the oven which I wanted to share in case folks are not familiar with it. This technique is simple and yields a succulent, juicy result.
It's a very simple method which is still used here in some French homes whereby the chicken is roasted, starting from a cold oven. Not only does the chicken become nicely coloured, and yields a succulent, juicy result but it also generates the most delicious caramelised roast chicken cooking juices with all the natural fat from the chicken.
For such a minimal effort, the results are really impressive. So why not go ahead and give this one a try!
X Nic
Recipe Overview
Preparation Time
Less than 30 minutes
Cooking Time
Less than 1.5 hours
Serving Size
1 x Cold Start Roast Chicken
190ml Chicken Cooking Juices/Broth
Main Ingredients:
1.7kg Whole Chicken
40g Tallow or Lard (Melted)
40g Tallow*
Salt To Taste
Recipe Instructions
Pat the chicken dry, if not already done so.
Add 1/2 of the melted tallow to a metal roasting tray/dish that you will be using to roast the chicken in. Spread the liquid over the base using a pastry brush.
Place the chicken in the roasting tray/dish. Pour the remaining melted tallow over the top of the chicken and use a pastry brush to brush the liquid into the legs and wings.
Cut the tallow into 4 smaller pieces.
Place a piece of tallow between each of the legs and wings of the chicken. Sprinkle salt over the chicken.
Add the roasting dish with the chicken to a cold oven. For a 1.5kg chicken, set the oven to 200c with the Forced Air function on. Cook for 70 minutes. For a chicken weighing slightly more than 1.5kg, set the oven temperature to 190c with the Forced Air function** on. Cook for 80-90 minutes without opening the door (this is very important to avoid the steam escaping).
Once cooked, transfer the chicken to a cooling rack and cover with greaseproof paper and a sheet of foil. Let it rest for at least 20+ minutes before carving.
Pour the cooking juices into a jug (you can sieve it first should you wish).
Once the chicken has cooled for at least 20 minutes, transfer it onto a wooden chopping board and carve the chicken.
To serve, add the chicken slices to serving plates (or a serving platter), and pour the delicious roast chicken cooking juices over the meat. Add a little extra fat for a good Paleolithic Ketogenic Diet (PKD) ratio.
Enjoy!
Tips
Should your chicken be slightly larger in size than 1.5kg, reduce the cooking temperature to 190c and extend the cooking time by 10 to 20 minutes.
*Tallow can be substituted with lard.
**Forced Air function allows you to cook a variety of food requiring the same cooking temperature on two shelves at the same time (e.g.: fish, vegetables, cakes). This function can be used to cook different foods without odours being transferred from one food to another. Use the 2nd shelf to cook on one shelf only. To cook on two shelves, use the 1st and 4th levels after preheating the oven.
To watch the original video done by the French Cooking Academy simply visit:
COLD START ROAST CHICKEN — French Cooking Academy (thefrenchcookingacademy.com)
Ideally, purchase your meat and fat from pasture raised animals that are Nitrate, Nitrite & Additive Free and use white sea salt or rock salt that contains no anticaking agents or other additives.
Check out my Beef Crackling recipe for instructions on how to make tallow.