I think Roast Chicken with Salt and Vinegar is my favorite recipe ever. I’ve given it out more times than I can count, and I make it more often at home than any other single dinner thing. It comes from my daughter’s great-grandmother (whom I never knew) and I’ve never seen this recipe anywhere else. Everyone who makes this particular roast chicken makes a point later to tell me how good it is, and how often they make it since they first tried the recipe. It can be a fancy dinner or easy comfort food, and it couldn’t be simpler. You are going to love it.
All you do is put a whole chicken in a roasting pan, drizzle it with vinegar, and sprinkle a bunch of salt all over it. Then you bake it at 350° for an hour and a half.
No, really. That’s it. The skin comes out wonderfully crispy, the meat is perfectly juicy, the drippings make a terrific gravy if you want gravy, and you can do so many things with the awesome leftovers that I’m writing an entire cookbook about it.
Let’s talk components for a minute, though. There are a few dos and don’ts:
Cooking vessel–Do use something not too much bigger than the chicken, and it needs to have sides. You don’t want the drippings to spill or cook off. A small roasting pan, a brownie pan, a small casserole dish, a cast iron skillet, whatever your chicken requires is fine. I usually use a cast iron skillet unless I’m cooking two chickens, in which case I use a 9”x13” Pyrex dish.
Vinegar–Anything except balsamic. Balsamic vinegar has a high enough sugar content that it will burn. Other than that, use whatever vinegar is handy: white, apple cider, red wine, white wine, champagne, sherry, tarragon, rice . . . you get the picture.
Salt–I usually use regular Morton kosher salt, but, really, any old salt will do. Note that I never use my stash of the expensive fancy salt for this, because I’m too cheap for that.
Chicken–You can use chicken parts if you like, but they really need to be bone-in, skin-on. Boneless breasts will dry out. My friend Mara, who sometimes comments here, righteously turned me on to doing wings this way. (And I do love me a chicken wing!) Obviously, parts will likely need a shorter cook time. Wings notwithstanding, whole birds really do give the best overall results, and they yield the best drippings and most versatile leftovers. I have also had good luck cooking Cornish hens, a turkey, and even ducks this way.
Roast Chicken with Salt and Vinegar makes a fantastic dinner served with the traditional trimmings–mashed potatoes, gravy, cooked vegetables, etc. But we often enjoy a decidedly more casual approach. Sometimes I’ll carve up the chicken, put out some salad greens, a quick vinaigrette, and a baguette with butter, buffet-style. I might put the chicken over the salad with the vinaigrette. Often I do leftover or roasted vegetables, and have condiments for the chicken. I don’t know about you, but I always have a ridiculous array of condiments available for practically anything, and I love a good condiment on roast chicken. I tend toward chimichurri, pesto, chutney, or, lately, some sort of citrus relish. I also like Lea & Perrins White Wine Worcestershire. Kids are usually more interested in BBQ sauce or honey mustard on the chicken and Ranch dressing on the salad, and none of it touching. C’est la vie. Everyone’s happy, and it’s all good.
Peace, baby! And delicious, easy, happy, eating.
Roast Chicken with Salt and Vinegar
Instructions
- Per whole chicken:A couple of oz. vinegar (any vinegar except balsamic, which will burn)A tablespoon or so of kosher salt (if using fine table salt, use a little less)Remove giblets from the chicken and pat dry. Put chicken in an oven-proof dish or pan that will just hold it comfortably. Drizzle/splash the vinegar over the chicken, making sure to get it everywhere. Sprinkle the salt generously all over the chicken, paying particular attention to the breast. Bake in a 350° oven until richly golden brown, about 90 minutes. You can douse the chicken with more vinegar and a little more salt about halfway through the cooking time if you like--I usually do.Allow the chicken to rest for 10 minutes or so before carving.For gravy:2 T. butter2 T. flour¼ cup white wineRoast chicken drippings, plus extra chicken broth or waterSalt and pepper to tasteRemove the chicken to a cutting board and pour the drippings into a measuring cup. If needed, add water or stock to make 1 1/2 cups liquid.Melt 2 T. butter in a skillet or small saucepan over medium heat. When the butter is melted, whisk in 2 T. flour, whisking constantly for a minute or two while the raw taste of the flour cooks off. Add ¼ cup white wine to the skillet, stirring constantly for 30 seconds or so, then whisk in the drippings. Turn the heat to low and stir until the gravy is smooth. Stir occasionally until the gravy is as thick as you like, and then season with salt and pepper to taste.
The salt and vinegar chicken wing is still a staple around here! Haven’t done a whole chicken in a while, so I may have to do that this week. Yum – try it, y’all. You won’t be disappointed.
I even make them this way when I’m turning them into Buffalo wings.
I can’t wait to try this! Maybe tonight. Good weather for comfort food.
Let me know how you like it!
Made it yesterday to share with my daughter and her husband and 17 year old daughter. It was a giant hit. We had it with roasted asparagus, basmati rice, and gravy. I used tarragon vinegar. The drippings were a little salty but I made the gravy with white wine and unsalted chicken broth, and it was perfect. This is definitely a keeper! Thanks for sharing this one – so simple and straightforward and classic.
I’m so glad you liked it! Actually I adjusted the gravy part of the recipe to reduce the saltiness a bit. Thanks a ton for the feedback!
This is the best comfort food recipe! Really enjoyed this! Thanks for sharing:)
Thanks, Burton!
What temperature should I use for bone- in , skin- on thighs? This kind of simple recipe is exactly what I am looking for, but I only have thighs on hand at the moment. Thank you.
Same temp, but thighs will cook faster than a whole chicken, so watch them!