Chinese Crispy Roast Chicken

This treat was on my dinner table last night....and is at the very least, in the "top ten" of meals.  There's some "good news," "bad news" here....but don't leave yet!!!  The "bad news" is that it takes at least two days to get the chicken ready for the table!  The "good news" is that there really isn't much work to it....it's just a bit time consuming.  In the end, it's worth the time and if you try it once, you'll cook it again!  There are some simple, but VERY IMPORTANT rules to follow...and I'll share them with you.  By the way, I had "midnight raiders" in the refrigerator last night...making a second attack on the chicken.  It's just delicious!!!

INGREDIENTS
1 Medium Size Roasting Chicken
1/4 Cup White Vinegar

(The rest of the ingredients are all for the marinade)
4 Cloves fresh garlic
1 inch piece of fresh ginger
1 Teaspoon Chinese Five Spice (you should be able to get from any Asian market.  Goes in many dishes)
1 Teaspoons Salt
1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Soy Sauce
2 Green Scallions (Onions)

PREPARATION
Wash and rinse the chicken, removing any large pieces of fat from the meat.  Allow the chicken to soak in fresh water for about 30 minutes when finished.

Remove the chicken from the water...let drain well....then rub the vinegar into the entire chicken.  Be sure to rub the vinegar into the inside cavity as well as the outside of the chicken.  Set the chicken aside and allow it to rest for about 15 minutes.  During this time, make the marinade.

Put all of the marinade ingredients into a measuring cup or something you can use which is easy to pour.  Dice the ginger and garlic and green scallions before adding to the marinade.  Set the marinade aside and get ready to work with the chicken again.

After the chicken has rested from the vinegar rub, it must be thoroughly dried.  THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT STEP TO GET A GOOD CHICKEN!  Use paper towels or whatever you like which will really absorb the moisture!!!  Dry the inside cavity and the outside of the chicken, removing all moisture from the surface!!!  Get the chicken as dry as possible!!

Stand the chicken up in a one gallon plastic Ziploc bag and pour about half the marinade into the chicken body cavity.  Now, pour the remainder of marinade into the bag around and over the chicken.  Seal the Ziploc bag and put the chicken into the refrigerator.  Marinate for AT LEAST 48 HOURS!  When you open the refrigerator, flip the chicken over a few times during the 48 hours to ensure that it is completely coated with marinade.  This marinade penetrates deeply and you will love the flavor through the chicken!

PREPARING TO ROAST
When ready to roast, remove the chicken from the Ziploc bag and discard the marinade.  We're going to dry the chicken again....and at this stage, COMPLETE DRYING IS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT!!  If you don't do it right, you won't have CRISPY roast chicken!  Again, I use paper towels to dry the body cavity and exterior of the chicken.  At the same time, I remove any remaining garlic, ginger and scallions left over from the marinade.  Remember....get the chicken as dry as possible!

Take a small knife with a very sharp pointed blade and make some holes in the skin of the chicken around the joints between the body and legs.  MAKE SURE TO DO THIS CAREFULLY, ONLY MAKING THE HOLE THROUGH THE SKIN AND NOT INTO THE MEAT.  The holes do not have to be large but should be put in any fatty areas of the chicken.  They will allow the fat to drain off while the chicken is roasting.  This is very similar to the process for making good roast duck.

We are now going to further dry the chicken.  Get creative here.  You want this chicken to be DRY!  Having cats, as I do, it's a bit of a challenge.  I put the chicken in a spare bedroom and place it close to and in the direct path of the air from a big box fan.  I find that complete drying takes about 4 hours....but this will vary depending upon temperature and humidity.  As the skin of the chicken dries, you will see it tighten up around the chicken and it will be dry to the touch.  Thanks to the marinade, the skin of the chicken will have a color very similar to the Donald Trump face tan.  No offense meant, but that's exactly how it looks!  Once completely dry to the touch, the chicken is ready to roast!  I know...you're having nightmares about leaving a raw chicken out at room temperature for something like 4 hours!!!  Have no fear!!!  It's NOT going to kill you!!!  Chinese people have been doing this for eons!!!  Remember...you have saturated the chicken with vinegar, salt and spices....all of which will inhibit any evil microbes taking over.  I ate this chicken last night and I'm still sitting here writing this today!

ROASTING
This will vary some, depending upon the size of your chicken.  Preheat the oven to 400 F degrees.  Place the chicken on a roasting rack with a pan below to catch any fat...and place an oven rack at the lowest setting in the oven.  Place the chicken in the oven and allow it to bake for about 45 minutes.  I flip the chicken over about half way through the baking cycle.

When the baking time is up, turn the oven temperature down to 250 F degrees and continue to bake the chicken for another 40 minutes.  Again, I flip the chicken over, halfway through the baking cycle.  You can always be sure the chicken is cooked, using a temperature probe if you have any doubts.

When finished baking, remove the chicken from the oven and place it on a platter.  Allow it to rest for 15 minutes before serving.  Whatever you do, pull some of the crispy skin off the chicken and savor the flavor!!!  You may either carve the chicken, or pull it from the carcass....eating it with your fingers.  I would HIGHLY recommend that you make some of my sweet fruit sauce for dipping the chicken, as it was absolutely wonderful!!!  You'll find the recipe on my recipe blog.

I truly hope you will give this roast chicken a try.  It really isn't a lot of work....just takes a lot of time for it to marinate and a bit of time to make sure you thoroughly dry the chicken at two stages of preparation.  That's about it.  I get nothing but raves about how wonderful it tastes.  If you enjoy it, please share the recipe with family and friends.  And if you have any questions, feel free to email me at: stan.kain@gmail.com  I recommend that you browse my recipe blog as there are many recipes there I use and enjoy around here....and they are all easy to prepare, healthy to eat and inexpensive.  I consider healthy eating to be some of the best medicine in the world!