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The Perfect Roast Chicken

marking chicken in a pan

There are two tests for a new cook looking to get a job in my kitchen: make the perfect omelet and the perfect roast chicken.

I have a gorgeous, local bird in the kitchen today, so let's tackle the roast chicken recipe.

A crispy, crunchy skin is part of what makes a roast chicken so tasty. I achieve that by rubbing the outside of the raw chicken with a lemon. This is a trick I learned when I was living in Anguilla in the Caribbean -- a traditional cooking technique in hot-weather locations. I imagine the acidity helps kill germs on the bird.

When you're done with that, stuff the lemons inside to infuse the whole bird with that citrus flavor.

The chicken isn't quite ready to go in the oven just yet. Brown both sides of the bird in a hot pan on the stovetop. In addition to charring the skin, this creates a caramelized crust on the bottom of the pan that you can use as a sauce when serving the chicken.

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