full blast. Place the bird on a rack set on a rimmed baking
sheet with the breasts facing up, then place the pan on top of
the hot steel or stone. Immediately turn the oven down to
400°F. The retained heat in the steel or stone will give the
legs a head start, and you’ll find that your whole chicken
will come to the right temperatures at pretty much the same
time. Pretty easy, right? It won’t crisp up quite as well as a
spatchcocked bird, nor will it cook as fast, but if you want
your bird coming to the table looking like the cover of the
Saturday Evening Post, it’s your best bet.

SHOULD I USE THE

CONVECTION SETTING IF MY

OVEN HAS ONE?

A convection oven is nothing more than a regular

oven    with    a   fan mechanism   inside  it. The fan force-

circulates   air     throughout  the     oven,   overriding  any

natural  convection  currents    that    form    through

normal  hot and cool    zones   in  a   regular oven.   What

this    means   is  that    the entire  oven    will    be  heated  to  a

relatively   even    temperature.    The     fan     also    makes

food    cook    faster  and crisp   better. How so?

In  a   regular oven,   cool    zones   will    naturally   form

around  foods   and in  areas   that    are protected   from