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Celebrity chef and restaurateur Jet Tila shares his recipe for a dish every cook should know: roast chicken. He also shares his favorite tips for making it the best, juicy roast chicken you've ever tasted. 

For a delicious dinner, round out this classic main dish with his Fluffy Mashed Potatoes

For more Sunday roast ideas your family will love, check out Rach's Tuscan Pot Roast, her Roasted Broccolini and Roasted Butternut Squash or Jacques Pepin's Simple Green Salad with Dijon Vinaigrette.

For more from chef Jet Tila, get his tips for how to hone your knives here.

Ingredients

  • ⅓ cup salt, plus more for seasoning
  • ⅓ cup sugar
  • One 3½- to 4-pound chicken
  • Vegetable cooking spray
  • 4 medium shallots, peeled and quartered
  • 6 medium cloves garlic, crushed and peeled
  • ½ bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • Ground black pepper

Yield

Serves: 2 to 4

Preparation

In a large container, dissolve salt and sugar in 2 quarts water to make the brine. Submerge chicken in brine and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to overnight. Remove chicken from brine and thoroughly pat dry with paper towels.  

Position rack in lower-middle of the oven and preheat to 375˚F.  

Place chicken on a rack-lined rimmed baking sheet. Stuff shallots, garlic, and parsley in cavity of chicken. Thread a long wooden skewer through flaps of skin on either side of cavity. Rotate skewer and rethread back through skin flaps, repeating stitching as necessary to close the cavity. Brush breast-side of chicken with 1 tablespoon melted butter and season generously with pepper. Place chicken breast-side down on the rack, then brush back with remaining tablespoon melted butter and season generously with more pepper. Roast chicken for until golden brown and the thickest part of the thigh registers 165˚ F on an instant-read thermometer, 75 to 80 minutes. 

Remove roasting pan from oven and turn on the broiler. Using 2 large wads of paper towels, carefully rotate chicken to arrange it breast-side up in the rack. Return roasting pan to oven and broil until the breast-skin is crisp and browned, 3 to 5 minutes.  

Remove roasting pan from oven. Tip rack carefully to allow juices from chicken cavity to run into the pan. Transfer chicken to cutting board and let rest, uncovered. Remove rack from baking sheet, then carefully pour the juices into a serving bowl for an easy sauce. (Pro Tip: Stir some butter or chopped herbs into the pan juices.) 

Carve the chicken after resting for 10 to 15 minutes, then serve topped with the pan juices.