apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Odd, but it makes sense, so long as the dryer is on cool.
I prefer the Waters method: remove chicken from plastic, salt and pepper inside and out, stuff with tarragon (under skin as well), put on platter, and let it air cool in fridge for up to 4 hours. Remove, let come to room temperature. Roast. Eat. Swoon.

I have actually thought of this, although i've never tried it. Since i'm roasting a chicken tonight, i'll let you all know how it turns out.

Now to my question -- i understand that a dry skin will result in crispiness... but i also wonder why a little bit of moisture in the skin is such a big deal. Wouldn't most of it evaporate pretty quickly in a hot oven anyway?

While it makes for a funny photo, I think I'd leave the blower dryer in bathroom.

The first step should be purchasing an air chilled chicken.

If you can't get an air chilled chicken, rinse and dry a chicken with paper towels, then set it in a pan, uncovered in your fridge overnight.

OMG! So brilliant! I was just complaining that I couldn't get a nice crispy duck skin (not having a walk-in fridge to hang it to dry in beforehand). Gotta try this next time.

the chinese roast duck way is to use bicycle pump - heston blumenthal actually tried it in his 2nd series of perfection. I usually leave the chicken in the fridge overnight to dry.

Hey Faith - maybe you need one of these for your kitchen! Funny that we both had hairdryer-centric posts today!

It appears to be enjoying being blow dried.

that photo is hilarious, and will try thing next time i roast

that photo takes away any dignity that bird had left

I usually dry the skin fully with paper towels if I don't have time to let it sit in the fridge for long enough to dry out, but I do hate using all of those paper towels...