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What does everyone still get wrong about roast chicken?
That's a good question. Probably the one thing I see that happens with roast chicken more often than not is that we don't dry out our birds well enough. It's hard to do at home - it's almost impossible for the home cook to have an environment inside the refrigerator where air is circulating so that the skin dries. You see in professional kitchens or butchers shops where the skin becomes a little dark - it's that dryness you need. Then comes the tempering part: when the chicken becomes room temperature, you roast it from there. Then you're really going to get a crispy skin and you're more likely to get even cooking. It's very difficult to get the breast done at the same time as the legs - you have to have that tolerance to say, "The great thing about roasted chicken is the whole thing." If the breast is a little bit overcooked to the legs, you have to be OK with that.
有什麼是大家在烤雞時會搞錯的事情呢？
這是一個好問題。最常發生的事情，就我所知的是，我們在烤雞前，都沒有將雞徹底地，裡裡外外都擦乾。這真的是在家比較不好處理的一件事情，想想家用冰箱的空氣循環方式，它頂多就只是把雞的表皮風乾而已，而看看專業廚房所處理的以及真正的肉鋪裡放的雞隻，那已經擺放到皮膚有稍微暗沉的光澤，才是我們要的乾燥。接下來才是真的要練習的地方：當雞隻從冷藏回溫到接近室溫，才是我們可以烤牠的時候。這樣才能得到每次都很一致的香脆外皮。然而很困難的是，你幾乎不可能使雞胸和需要較長時間加熱的雞腿在同樣的時間裡達到相同的熟度。某些時候，你就是會覺得雞胸比雞腿柴了點。所以有時候，你必需要很寬容地對自己說，至少我烤出一整隻漂亮的烤雞，而就是最棒的事情了。看開點，烤一隻雞就是這樣而已。
One 2- to 3-pound farm-raised chicken
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons minced thyme (optional)
Unsalted butter
Dijon mustard
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Rinse the chicken, then dry it very well with paper towels, inside and out. The less it steams, the drier the heat, the better.
Salt and pepper the cavity, then truss the bird. Trussing is not difficult, and if you roast chicken often, it's a good technique to feel comfortable with. When you truss a bird, the wings and legs stay close to the body; the ends of the drumsticks cover the top of the breast and keep it from drying out. Trussing helps the chicken to cook evenly, and it also makes for a more beautiful roasted bird.
Now, salt the chicken—I like to rain the salt over the bird so that it has a nice uniform coating that will result in a crisp, salty, flavorful skin (about 1 tablespoon). When it's cooked, you should still be able to make out the salt baked onto the crisp skin. Season to taste with pepper.
Place the chicken in a sauté pan or roasting pan and, when the oven is up to temperature, put the chicken in the oven. I leave it alone—I don't baste it, I don't add butter; you can if you wish, but I feel this creates steam, which I don't want. Roast it until it's done, 50 to 60 minutes. Remove it from the oven and add the thyme, if using, to the pan. Baste the chicken with the juices and thyme and let it rest for 15 minutes on a cutting board.
Remove the twine. Separate the middle wing joint and eat that immediately. Remove the legs and thighs. I like to take off the backbone and eat one of the oysters, the two succulent morsels of meat embedded here, and give the other to the person I'm cooking with. But I take the chicken butt for myself. I could never understand why my brothers always fought over that triangular tip—until one day I got the crispy, juicy fat myself. These are the cook's rewards. Cut the breast down the middle and serve it on the bone, with one wing joint still attached to each. The preparation is not meant to be superelegant. Slather the meat with fresh butter. Serve with mustard on the side and, if you wish, a simple green salad. You'll start using a knife and fork, but finish with your fingers, because it's so good.
一隻2-3磅重的放牧雞
海鹽以及現磨黑胡椒
2小匙剁至細碎的百里香（選擇性）
將烤箱預熱至450°F（約230°C)。清洗一下雞隻，然後用廚房紙巾將牠徹底地由裡到外都擦乾，減少水份在烤箱裡產生的蒸烤，爐火加熱得愈直接，加熱效果愈好。
先調味雞的身腔內部，鹽與胡椒都要。然後拿起綿繩，開始綁雞。其實綁雞並不是什麼困難的事情，如果你時常烤雞你就會知道，這個步驟只要做得好，就很容易能使人感覺良好。綁好雞隻，翅膀和雞腿將保持和雞的身體緊密性，雞腿的尾端盡可能地靠近雞胸的部位，這都有助於烘烤出完美的烤雞。
接著，將鹽均勻地像雪花落下般地灑在雞隻上面，以便能烤出香脆、有鹹味，且風味十足的外皮。而且，在整隻雞烤好之後，你還能看見漂亮的鹽花散落在脆皮的表面。磨上適量的黑胡椒。
將雞放進一只夠大的煎鍋裡面，待烤箱溫度到達我們要的高溫之後，連雞帶鍋都送進烤箱。我的作法是就放著讓牠烤，我不在烘烤中去抹油，也不加牛油，如果你想要你可以試看看，但我覺得這樣會產生蒸汽，而這是我不想要的。烤到雞隻熟透，大約是50到60分鐘。然後在鍋子裡加入剁碎的百里香。將雞烤出來的油脂連同百里香碎往雞隻上澆淋，然後將雞擺上鉆板，靜置，讓肉汁對流完整，大約是15分鐘。
去除綿繩。先取下雞翅的臂膀，當然，最好是馬上吃掉牠。接著取下大腿和小腿，然後在取下背骨的時候，我會順便吃掉嵌在上面兩側那兩塊稱為蠔肉的好東西，其他的則留給和我一起烹飪的人。但我絕對會把雞屁股留給我自己。其實我原本一直搞不懂，為什麼我的兄弟們常在爭著吃那塊三角椎，直到某天，我自己吃到了那多汁肥嫩的屁股肉，一切就都瞭了。這是身為廚師該有的獎賞。將雞胸由中剖開，最好是將連著骨頭的以及雞翅的那一半擺上盤，這些動作並不一定要超級優雅。然後為雞刷上一點新鮮的軟化牛油。上桌時，旁邊可以配上一點黃芥末，如果你想要，簡單的小沙拉也不賴。
開動時，當然你會想用刀叉，但相信一件事情，真正美味的烤雞，肯定是連手指都會用上的。
－from 《Bouchon》 by Thomas Keller
編按：
對於烤雞，文字描述仍有太多想像空間，下面連結讓我們得以藉由Anthony Bourdain的特別節目，由Thomas Keller在廚房裡親自示範，怎麼做烤雞：
