oven roasted vs Weber Q chicken
A roast chicken with crispy skin is a an all time favourite for us. This time around I pitted my beloved Weber Q up against the kitchen oven, cooking one in each. Read on to see the results.
how to spatchcock a chicken
- Using a pair of sharp kitchen scissors cut along either side of the back bone starting from the parson’s nose.
- Flip the bird over and gently using the palm of your hand press down on the breastbone until the chicken flattens out – you will hear a couple of cracks. This flattening of the bird allows for a more even cook and crispier skin.
dry brining
Dry brine the chicken by sprinkling kosher salt at the rate of 1/2 tsp per pound. Refrigerate for a minimum of 3 hours. As I mentioned in the smoked pulled pork post the science behind the art of dry brining is explained by Meathead Goldwyn. You can read his article here.
directions
- Preheat the oven or barbecue to 240c/465f.
- Baste the chicken with oil and season with salt* and pepper.
- Place the chicken on a wire rack, skin side up, and bake in the oven for approximately 50 minutes or until the meatiest part of the thigh reaches 74c/165f… Alternatively, place the bird on a roasting trivet in your Weber with a piece of aluminum foil or convection tray under the trivet. In the past I’ve had some problems with the skin burning over the direct heat. The foil acts as a barrier and prevents this from happening.
*keep in mind the dry brining process will take care of most of the required seasoning so only add a small amount.
So which method produced the best results?
The pictures do actually tell the story on this occasion….
The chicken in the second photo was the one cooked in the Weber. You’ll notice the skin has stayed firm and the brown colouring is more even. Most importantly, the taste was noticeably better. However I’m not about to sack the old oven just yet. A sample space of 1 is hardly convincing and I’ve had plenty of great tasting chickens out of our oven. I’ve just never had the direct comparison with a Weber cooked chook. We’d love to hear your thoughts on what method produces the tastiest roast chicken.
The image at the top of the page is a WeberQ roasted chicken rubbed with Meathead’s Memphis Dust. This adds great flavour to the skin and I highly recommend giving it a go. You can find the recipe for the rub here.
