The Zuni Roast Chicken: Salt, Time, and Heat

One to three days before roasting, pat the chicken completely dry with paper towels. Season all surfaces — including inside the cavity — with fine sea salt. Set the bird uncovered on a rack in the refrigerator. After 24 hours the surface will be noticeably drier; after 72 hours the skin will feel almost papery. That papery surface is the target. Do not cover the bird.

When ready to roast, remove the chicken from the refrigerator and allow it to come toward room temperature while the oven heats. Set the oven to 260°C with a small, heavy ovenproof frying pan or skillet inside. The pan must be fully preheated — allow 20–30 minutes. A cold pan placed in a hot oven is not the same as a hot pan.

Place the chicken breast-side down in the preheated pan. The contact of cold skin on hot metal will produce an immediate, audible sizzle. If the pan is sufficiently hot, this sound is immediate and sustained. Return the pan to the oven and roast in this position for approximately 25 minutes.

This is the step on which the dish lives or dies. At the 25-minute mark, remove the pan and carefully flip the chicken breast-side up. The underside of the breast should already be pale gold; the skin should release cleanly from the pan without tearing. Return to the oven and roast a further 15–25 minutes, until the breast skin is deeply golden and the surface crackles when pressed lightly with a finger. A soft, yielding skin means more time is needed.

Pierce the thigh at its thickest point with a skewer or thin knife. The juices must run clear with no trace of pink. At 260°C, a 1.2 kg bird reaches this point between 40 and 50 minutes total. If any pink remains in the juice, return the bird to the oven in 5-minute increments and retest.

Transfer the chicken to a board and rest uncovered for a minimum of 10 minutes. The pan drippings — rendered fat and concentrated juices — are essential to the bread salad. Do not discard them and do not rest the bird over the pan, which would reabsorb the drippings. After resting, the juices pooling on the board are also added to the salad.

Dress the bread chunks with the pan drippings, olive oil, and red wine vinegar. The bread should absorb the fat and vinegar without becoming sodden — it holds its texture at the centre while the exterior softens. Fold in the herbs and any resting juices from the board. Taste for salt and acid. Serve the carved chicken directly over or alongside the salad.