I’ve made this 3x now with subtle variations and updates.
Todays bird was salted and air dried in the fridge for 24 hours before cooking. Only salt, nothing else. I didn’t do the “poke all over” skin-prick thing, but I did make relief slits on the back near the wing and oyster.
With the oven preheated to 425 and the pan rippin’ hot, I used a touch of avacado oil and dropped the bird back-down for 15 minutes on low+ heat.
After the back was crispy, I cooked each side for 10 min at the same power setting. The big augmentation this time was basting/lubing the entire bird with fat/drippings right before she went in the oven. 30 min (convection) later, the breast was at 158 and I let her rest for 10 minutes before carving.
Overall very successful. The dark and white meat had balanced doneness. I do wish I could get a more color on the breast – but let’s be real the thigh/leg/wing skin is always the crispy best anyhow. Only thing I’d change next time is ~5 min more cook (personal preference), and a longer rest (which is primarly a function of starting dinner earlier, relative to my hungry kids).
Plan to do this again and again, and I’m all ears of anyone has suggestions for improvements. Cheers!
by silverfstop