POULTRY COOKING METHOD 2
(If You’ve Got Time to
Spare): DIVIDE and
CONQUER
You’ll need to know how to break down a bird to use this
method (or, to make it far easier, just buy parts individually
at the store), as well as being completely willing to kiss any
Norman Rockwell dreams of picture-perfect roast birds
good-bye.
Separating the legs and the breasts from each other makes
it a very simple matter to roast the parts together, removing
the breasts from the oven once they reach their final
temperature and cooking the legs until they reach theirs.
After allowing everything to rest, all you need to do is bang
the oven up to a raging 500°F, throw everything back inside
for a few minutes to crisp up the skin, and dinner is served.
To maximize even cooking, I make sure to cook the parts in
a very gentle oven—as low a temperature as I have the time
and patience for (see here for an explanation on why a low
oven promotes even cooking).
For the best results, it’s always better to leave the breast
meat attached to the bones and the skin on when you roast
the breasts. This has nothing to do with any kind of mythical
exchange of flavor between bones and meat (see “Bones,”