I saw this recipe done on television back in November 2008, I tried it and was delightfully surprised with how easy and unique this recipe is! Who knew roasting a whole chicken was this fun, easy and insanely delicious?
The added bonus is that you can make several more chicken meals with the remains of your chicken after you try out this recipe. Here is the salt crusted/ salt cocoon recipe:
Moist Roasted Chicken Recipe – Salt Cocoon Style
Now don’t be alarmed with the amount of salt the recipe calls for, trust me it’s delicious and not overly salty. The salt just literally forms a cocoon around the chicken, locking in taste and moisture. The abundance of salt doesn’t penetrate much more than the salted skin of the chicken and the skin is yummy too!
You will need the following:
- 4 cups kosher salt (I used rock salt, the bigger the granules the better!)
- 1 3lb whole chicken
- 1 teaspoon of dried thyme
- 1 lemon, ends trimmed and pierced with a fork
- 1/2 -1 cup of water
- Roasting pan & foil
Preheat the oven to 450 and line your roasting pan with foil. Remove giblets and rinse the whole chicken. Pat chicken dry inside and out. Sprinkle the inside of the chicken with the teaspoon of thyme and stuff the whole lemon inside.
Sprinkle a thick layer of salt on the foil, place the chicken breast side down on to the layer of salt. Now cover the entire exposed side of the chicken with the salt, cover all the chicken with salt- pack it on baby! I used a spray bottle to moisten the salt or you can sprinkle water on to the salt to seal the salt cocoon, the water helps to keep the salt in place on the chicken’s surface.
Place the roasting pan in the oven, bake uncovered for about an hour. Don’t worry if the salt becomes charred or dark. After the hour is up remove the chicken from the oven and let it sit for about 10 minutes.
This is the fun part! After the 10 minutes is up take the roasting pan and gently slam it down on the counter- this is to crack the salt cocoon/ crust. It’s the best part of the cooking process! Now you simply remove the salt crust pieces, you can wipe the chicken with a paper towel if you want. Now the chicken is ready to be consumed and boy is it yummy!
The salt locks in the moisture of the chicken, the lemon and thyme will infuse the chicken with flavor and the salt will keep the chicken from drying out. Plus throwing the roasting pan on to the table/ counter is a great moment if you are entertaining for dinner! 🙂
Try it you will like it, it’s my new favorite recipe!
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That’s very interesting and I have to agree with the earlier commenter that I wouldn’t have tried this unless someone else had first. LOL. 🙂 You are brave Talina, but we appreciate it.
teeni’s last blog post..I?m XX-L-Ent!
i think i’m going to take your word for it and give this recipe a try. i would never do it if someone else hadn’t tried it first! 🙂
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corrin »
Oh, it’s yummy! Tell us how you like it… Oh I forgot to post the photos I had of cooking this recipe.
That looks so gross……i will make it tomorrow.
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i pulled out my chicken to make this tonight!
corrin’s last blog post..Four Foods on Friday!
Love the look of this recipe, I’ve got a frieds birthday tonight that I’m cooking for… I’m going to give this a go!
Thanks,
Mark
I love it. I wanted to make it but forgot the recipe. So I am so glad I found it here. I sawed through the crust with sharp knife and lifted it off. I saw a variation where the chicken was wrapped in salt dough. I want to try it with Turkey or perhaps a whole fish.