Roasted Chicken, Perfected

The architecture of a chicken, along with the different target temperatures for white and dark meat, make it difficult to perfectly roast a whole bird. The breast is best at 160°F to 165°F; dark meat needs to hit at least 175°F, though it’s best at 195°F or slightly above. Spatchcocking helps, but the most surefire way to get perfectly roasted chicken is to disassemble the bird—that is, remove each leg and wing section and leave the breast whole. Salted and left to stand at room temperature for an hour before cooking, the breast and legs finish together in about 50 minutes with crisp, golden brown skin. If your oven has a convection setting, this is a good time to use it; it will shave off about five minutes.