Last Sunday, we joined a couple of friends and spent the afternoon exploring four farms in the East Austin Urban Farm Tour. Only a stone’s throw away from the soaring towers of downtown, Boggy Creek Farm, Hausbar Farm, Springdale Farm, and Rain Lily Farm are all unique in terms of how much land they have, how long they have been around for, or what they grow, but each is dedicated to bringing the freshest local produce and food to the Austin community. In fact, you can eat the produce from each farm at many restaurants in town, as well as check out their weekly farm stands or order a CSA through Farmhouse Delivery.

Our friends and I talked a lot about the economics of farming in the 21st century and whether these farms were profitable or just driven by a blind passion towards a better way of living and eating. We didn’t come up with any answers or look at any spreadsheets, but I just know that I’m lucky to live in a community that supports people living their dream of creating the best farm possible.

When one partners with someone in both life and in the kitchen, it is funny how certain roles are assumed by each partner, sometimes without even realizing what role has become yours over the years. In the kitchen, I have become the partner who always makes dessert and usually cooks something that requires lots of braising and one large pot. Carlo on the other hand is the partner who mans the grill, butchers meat, and makes me breakfast most days. One of his other roles is being the house’s official roaster of chickens.

This however changed a few weeks ago when Carlo was out of town and I had a whole chicken sitting in my fridge that needed to be cooked. It was a Friday night and the thought of a roast chicken and a nice bottle of red wine was just how I wanted to unwind from the week. I found a surprisingly simple Thomas Keller recipe at Epicurious that I thought I would try because anyone who has ever eaten at one of his restaurants knows that he doesn’t mess around with the classics.

50 minutes later and with a whole lot more cooking courage, as well as a fair bit of smoke in the kitchen, I had roasted my first chicken! And it was amazing with super crispy skin on the outside and tender and juicy meat on the inside. In fact, it was so good, I declared myself the official chicken roaster in the house from here on out. Although Carlo still gets to keep his role as the carver of his chicken because everything is better with team work!

Thomas Keller’s Simple Roast Chicken, from Epicurious, October 2004

a 2- to 3-pound chicken
coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Rinse the chicken, then dry it very well with paper towels, inside and out. Making sure the chicken is a key step in cooking a super crispy chicken as this prevents the chicken from steaming, instead of roasting.

Salt and pepper the cavity and then use some twine to truss the drumsticks together over the top of the breast. You can also truss the wings and secure them closer to the body of the chicken, but I’ve haven’t gotten the hang of this move and I’ve never had any disastrous results from not doing so.

Place the chicken into a roasting pan and salt the skin liberally. Seriously, just think how amazing salty crispy chicken tastes and go crazy. Then season to taste with a bit of pepper.

Roast the chicken in the hot oven for 50-60 minutes and it looks done. If you want to get all technical, place a thermometer in the deepest part of the thigh and a temperature of 165°F means the chicken is ready to eat!

Due to the high roasting temperature, the chicken skin spits off quite a bit of fat which can create a little bit of smoke in the oven and then the kitchen. One way to lessen this is to roast the chicken on the lower shelf of your oven and place a large sheet of tin foil on the top shelf that can catch and contain some of this chicken fat. Although be prepared for a little smoke and open the windows I’m not afraid of a little smoke.

Once the chicken is done, remove it from the oven and add the thyme to the pan. Base the chicken with the fatty juices and thyme, and let it rest for 15 minutes on a cutting board.

Then the chicken is ready to carve! Here is a good video from Gourmet of how to carve a whole roast chicken, although I do think that just pulling chunks of tender chicken and crispy skin off the carcass with your hands is totally acceptable too.