This Christmas dinner is not possible without the use of an oven and proper roasting technique
Roasting is one of the most versatile cooking techniques. You can prepare oven roasted vegetables or an elaborate roasted turkey for Thanksgiving. Here's a breakdown of the basics behind each of them.
Roasting Vegetables
Roasting vegetables all follow a simple procedure.
- Preheat oven anywhere from between 400-500 degrees
- Toss with oil
- Season salt and pepper
- Enjoy!
Nicely roasted vegetables need higher temperatures to get the caramelization desired. Here's a batch of roasted Broccoli I made the other day.
Roasting a Whole Chicken
By age 30, I would say every adult should be able to roast a whole chicken. I was planning on creating a video but I always share this video with anyone who asks "what are the basics to cooking a whole chicken?" Who better than Thomas Keller to explain how to do just that!
Basic components of roasted poultry
- Truss chicken (optional)
- After room temp, season with salt and pepper.
- Place on bed of vegetables or on a wire rack baking sheet.
- Roast in your oven for 40-60 minutes depending on the size of the bird.
I will confess that when I'm pressed for time and want to "just eat", I love to butterfly the whole chicken. As the video will elaborate, it allows the chicken to cook at a more even rate and most importantly, much faster.