This colourful chicken was a hit! Not only did the paste look fun underneath the chicken skin it also really made it juicy. I'm not a big chicken fan myself but for a dinner party this is great. For twelve people I used two fairly large organic chickens. Perfecto mundo!

Esta receta tiene un sabor realmente bueno, la crema de cilantro que se le pone bajo la piel, impregna al pollo de un sabor unico, no es complicado, y es delicioso.

Simple and easy. Be careful not to tear apart chicken's skin when preparing it.

Since my husband & I are going to be alone for Thanksgiving this year, I decided to try out this recipe, using a small organic chicken. It was a great success! And the leftovers taste fantastic cold!

You mention the cilantro paste makes enough for 2 chickens, if I freeze the other half would it affect the flavor. Also could I brine the chicken in some salt and water for an hour or two before preparing to roast it. Or do it make a difference since I'm puting a paste under the skin to make the breast meat juicy.

I am always a fan of brining, I think it makes chicken so much better and so much more moist. I recommend brining a whole chicken for at least 2 hours.

As for the cilantro paste, you can try to freeze it and let me know, but I think it's best when fresh. But it will keep for a few days in the refrigerator. Hope this helps!

I want to add some vegetables like small red potatoes, onions and peppers so that I can make it a more balanced meal. When would I add the vegetables? And how long would I leave them in for?

The potatoes will likely need about 45 mins or so, depending on their size. You can add them in the last 30 minutes or so, and then when the chicken is ready you can take it out and let it rest while the potatoes finish cooking. At this point, I would also turn up the heat to about 400 to 425 °F, as long as there is still some liquid. This will way the potatoes can get a bit of color and soak up some of the yummy chicken stock.

You could also add some large diced carrots if you like.

What time should I be there for dinner? Ha Ha! Good Luck!

The chicken looks delicious. At this point I must confess that I was running low on groceries and didn't have the cilantro at all. But I had a whole chicken and decided to do an Indian village favourite, a whole chicken basted with just mustard oil and red pepper flakes. I added lime and a garlic head cut through the middle in the cavity and a bay leaf and a few thyme sprigs under the skin. I remember it used to taste delicious. And I just pulled my chicken out and set it for resting while the peppers, potatoes and onions cook. The chicken smells divine.

And you are still invited to dinner, Dawn.

Thanks Swati, your recipe sounds really nice. You should enter it in the "Test Kitchen" I would make it for sure.

http://rouxbe.com/recipes/text

Enjoy your dinner :-)

I made this tonight and my husband loved it. His only complaint was he wanted more of the cilantro sauce. I cooked a bigger than average chicken that took ALL the sauce, so there was nothing left.

Next time, I think I'll try this with chicken thighs to up the ratio of sauce to meat. My butcher sells chicken thighs so big they take about 75 minutes to cook. I think the sauce will have enough time to work it's magic. Do you?

Glad you liked the Chicken Charmian... Extending this stock is easy. All you have to do is double up on the stock at the beginning if you want more in the end. This sauce is really just a reduced dark chicken stock flavored (or enriched) by the drippings from the chicken, the cilantro paste and the garlic & lemon from inside the chicken. So don't be afraid to add some additional dark chicken stock in the end to add to the volume.

It would also work great for thighs, breasts, legs, etc...no problem.

I made this chicken tonight. It was incredibly moist, even the breast meat. So moist, in fact, that I was worried whether or not the meat was properly done. I tested for donness by cutting through where the leg and breast met as indicated in the video recipe. My chicken seemed done. But after dinner when I shredded the leftover meat to store for soups and chicken salad, the carcass underneath was still pink in some parts. Is this normal?

Unless you really overcook a bird, you will often find a few pieces of meat very close the bone that might have some residual pinkness. Not too much to worry about especially if the meat you ate was fully cooked (with no pinkness).

Another testing tip when checking the thigh meat for doneness, is to make sure to pull the leg right back to expose the joint where the leg meets the carcass. It should pull away from the joint quite easily. If there is still a lot of resistance, then it is not cooked right to the bone. You can see it best in this video for "How to carve poultry". Note the second leg how easily it pulls from the main carcass.

Don't worry about it too much. I'd suggest quickly re-heating the chicken in the soup or poaching it quickly in stock to bring the meat back up to a safe temperature before eating the leftovers (above 160 degrees or until the pinkness has gone away). By the way, even for cold salads, I often poach left over chicken pieces to warm them as the poaching process really makes the meat tender and moist after sitting in the fridge.

Thanks Joe. Then I think I have nothing to be afraid of. All pieces were white and the juices ran clear. Also the leg gave absolutely no resistance when I was checking for donness. I just found it hard to believe that I had roasted a bird that well! Thanks.

I want to make this recipe for Easter, but I will need to roast two chickens at the same time to feed everyone.

usually, when I'm trying to estimate how long to cook a single chicken, I use my grandmother's "20-minutes a pound" rule, then use a probe thermometer to be sure when its done. this works pretty well for one chicken, but I'm not sure if it will work for the two? can I just add the weight of the two together, and use this system (two 4-pound chickens = 8 lbs = 2hr, 40min)?

thanks for any suggestions!

I think the times you have for roasting chickens sounds a bit too long - no disrespect to your Grandma :-)

I also think that cooking two chicken won't necessarily take much longer (if any) than if you were just roasting one chicken.

You may find it helpful to watch the cooking school lesson on How to Roast Chicken. Here we talk about roasting times and also what to look for to determine when the chicken is done. Cheers!

Hi Dawn,

thanks for the feedback. I've tried cooking two chickens for just a bit longer as I would as just one, and they were not even close to being cooked though. I'm familiar with what they should be like when they are properly cooked (and, as mentioned, I do use a probe thermometer). I only use the 20min/lb as a ballpark to estimate when the chicken goes in the oven, so they're done with the rest of the dinner - for just one chicken, it works well for that purpose. If anyone has any ideas for estimating timing for cooking two, I'd love to hear them.

happy Easter everyone.

Doubling up will mean a variable to your cooking time, but that could also depend on how close the birds are to each other. Anyone who gives you a definitive guide to recommended cooking time for this one is misleading you. Roasting times in any recipe are always a guide, never the rule. Too many variables, such as size of the birds, their temperatures, oven quality, heat spots, accuracy, even which rack you put the food will affect cooking times by as much as 20-25%. This means that if you only follow times, your food may be 20-25% either underdone or overdone.

Michelle, you indicate you know what to look for in a cooked bird. Then trust that knowledge, please! It's the only way you'll understand cooking, believe me. As a professional culinary instructor I'd never let any of my students ever, ever rely on a recipe's cooking time, even my own. Your senses and skill development are the only real answer to your question. If you knew what I knew about this question you'd realize that in the end once you've achieved success you'd give the same advice. Don't give in and look for an easy out, discover the answer for yourself, for your oven. This is what cooking is all about!

Happy Easter.

After brining the chicken for 2 hrs, is it necessary to air dry before applying the cilantro paste? and can the bird be kept in the refrigerator to marinate with the paste before roasting? Appreciate your comments.
Thanks
Aarti

You do not necessarily have to air dry the bird before adding the paste, just make sure it is has been dried well. As for letting it marinate for a while the answer is yes it can be left to marinate for a few hours. I often do it ahead of time and then refrigerate it (uncovered) for a few hours.

For more info on air drying and marinating you may want to watch the lessons on Brining and Marinating. Good luck - cheers!

Thanks Dawn for your reply. If I brine a 5 lb chicken for 2 hrs, should I use a concentrated brine or will a regular brine be enough?
Thanks and Happy Holidays!!

If brining a whole bird for only 2 hours I would use a brine with a higher salt solution, perhaps a medium brine. You could use an even higher salt solution as well...just don't brine it for too long (see the lesson for more details about this). Cheers!

Is there a reason why, in the recipe we are to roast the chicken @ 375 vs. 400 that is stated in the lesson? Thanks

Really it just comes down to the fact that this was a different recipe that was done at a different time. The herb paste under the skin can cause the top to darken more quickly so we started it at a bit lower temperature. Cheers!