Trussing (Optional)

Trussing is tying up the limbs of the bird so that they lie close to the body. This prevents the limbs from burning or overcooking. It's necessary only for large birds, in my opinion. Use only natural-color cotton kitchen string. Accidentally using a synthetic string causes disaster both for your kitchen (it smells awful) and for your health (it's poisonous). Seasoning

This is the creative part of roasting. I won't go into a detailed explanation of seasoning here because I focus on it in other articles, but here are the basics. You can choose between two ways of seasoning your bird -- dry and wet. A dry seasoning is called a "rub" and is rubbed into the skin and cavities of the bird before it goes i

The theory of roasting is simple: the seasoned bird is placed whole in the oven and left to cook, uncovered, until it is done. There are some arguments about whether you should set the oven at a moderate temperature and leave it, or brown the skin at a higher temperature and then turn the heat down. Some people also baste (pour liquid over) their roasts periodically. But really, that's all there is to it.

Choosing the Bird

You can roast virtually any bird whole. Your choice will depend on a combination of taste, time, money and the amount of food you need to make. From the teeniest of quails to the hugest of turkeys, the process of choosing, cleaning and preparing the bird to roast is exactly the same.

Poultry must always be as fresh as possible, and cooked within a day or two of purchase. Fresh birds are better than frozen. I use organically raised and prepared fowl. I think they taste better, but your mileage may vary.

Domestic turkeys, chickens, cornish game hens and quail are all sweet, mild meats, bred to be less fatty and less "gamey" tasting than their wild brethren. Wild birds, domestic ducks and geese are all stronger tasting. Ducks are fatty and geese are even more so. To keep the skin crisp it's best to slice the very fatty parts open with a knife (try not to cut down into the meat of the bird), creating a channel through which the liquified fat will drain as the bird heats up.

All birds should be thoroughly washed before roasting, and any packages of innards or sauce removed from the cavity. (Often the livers and neck are included inside the bird.) You can toss out the innards or you can use them in another dish.

Brining (Optional)

You may or may not choose to brine your bird before serving. I do it with turkey, but not with anything smaller. The process calls for filling your sink or other large container with cold water and pouring in a cup of table salt (2 cups of coarse kosher salt) per gallon water for 4-8 hours. (You can leave the bird in the salt bath overnight if you like, but cut the amount of salt in half.)

A similar effect is achieved by "koshering" (the traditional Jewish process for preparing turkey, although strictly speaking no bird is kosher unless it has both been prepared traditionally and blessed by a rabbi). To kosher your turkey soak it in unsalted cold water for about thirty minutes. Then crust it with coarse kosher salt and let it sit on an incline for between 1-2 hours; a cutting board propped to drain into the sink works fine. When the time is up, rinse it thoroughly with cold water at three or four time. I find brining works just as well as koshering for tenderizing, and it is a lot easier to do.

If you have the time and the inclination you can air dry your bird before putting it in the oven. It makes the skin crispier. But only do this with brined or koshered birds. Let it dry uncovered in the refrigerator or out on the counter as you let it come to room temperature.

Trussing (Optional)

Trussing is tying up the limbs of the bird so that they lie close to the body. This prevents the limbs from burning or overcooking. It's necessary only for large birds, in my opinion. Use only natural-color cotton kitchen string. Accidentally using a synthetic string causes disaster both for your kitchen (it smells awful) and for your health (it's poisonous). Seasoning

This is the creative part of roasting. I won't go into a detailed explanation of seasoning here because I focus on it in other articles, but here are the basics. You can choose between two ways of seasoning your bird -- dry and wet. A dry seasoning is called a "rub" and is rubbed into the skin and cavities of the bird before it goes in

Poultry must always be as fresh as possible, and cooked within a day or two of purchase. Fresh birds are better than frozen. I use organically raised and prepared fowl. I think they taste better, but your mileage may vary.

Domestic turkeys, chickens, cornish game hens and quail are all sweet, mild meats, bred to be less fatty and less "gamey" tasting than their wild brethren. Wild birds, domestic ducks and geese are all stronger tasting. Ducks are fatty and geese are even more so. To keep the skin crisp it's best to slice the very fatty parts open with a knife (try not to cut down into the meat of the bird), creating a channel through which the liquified fat will drain as the bird heats up.

All birds should be thoroughly washed before roasting, and any packages of innards or sauce removed from the cavity. (Often the livers and neck are included inside the bird.) You can toss out the innards or you can use them in another dish.

Brining (Optional)

You may or may not choose to brine your bird before serving. I do it with turkey, but not with anything smaller. The process calls for filling your sink or other large container with cold water and pouring in a cup of table salt (2 cups of coarse kosher salt) per gallon water for 4-8 hours. (You can leave the bird in the salt bath overnight if you like, but cut the amount of salt in half.)

A similar effect is achieved by "koshering" (the traditional Jewish process for preparing turkey, although strictly speaking no bird is kosher unless it has both been prepared traditionally and blessed by a rabbi). To kosher your turkey soak it in unsalted cold water for about thirty minutes. Then crust it with coarse kosher salt and let it sit on an incline for between 1-2 hours; a cutting board propped to drain into the sink works fine. When the time is up, rinse it thoroughly with cold water at three or four time. I find brining works just as well as koshering for tenderizing, and it is a lot easier to do.

If you have the time and the inclination you can air dry your bird before putting it in the oven. It makes the skin crispier. But only do this with brined or koshered birds. Let it dry uncovered in the refrigerator or out on the counter as you let it come to room temperature.

Trussing (Optional)

Trussing is tying up the limbs of the bird so that they lie close to the body. This prevents the limbs from burning or overcooking. It's necessary only for large birds, in my opinion. Use only natural-color cotton kitchen string. Accidentally using a synthetic string causes disaster both for your kitchen (it smells awful) and for your health (it's poisonous). Seasoning

This is the creative part of roasting. I won't go into a detailed explanation of seasoning here because I focus on it in other articles, but here are the basics. You can choose between two ways of seasoning your bird -- dry and wet. A dry seasoning is called a "rub" and is rubbed into the skin and cavities of the bird before it goes i

All birds should be thoroughly washed before roasting, and any packages of innards or sauce removed from the cavity. (Often the livers and neck are included inside the bird.) You can toss out the innards or you can use them in another dish.

Brining (Optional)

You may or may not choose to brine your bird before serving. I do it with turkey, but not with anything smaller. The process calls for filling your sink or other large container with cold water and pouring in a cup of table salt (2 cups of coarse kosher salt) per gallon water for 4-8 hours. (You can leave the bird in the salt bath overnight if you like, but cut the amount of salt in half.)

A similar effect is achieved by "koshering" (the traditional Jewish process for preparing turkey, although strictly speaking no bird is kosher unless it has both been prepared traditionally and blessed by a rabbi). To kosher your turkey soak it in unsalted cold water for about thirty minutes. Then crust it with coarse kosher salt and let it sit on an incline for between 1-2 hours; a cutting board propped to drain into the sink works fine. When the time is up, rinse it thoroughly with cold water at three or four time. I find brining works just as well as koshering for tenderizing, and it is a lot easier to do.

If you have the time and the inclination you can air dry your bird before putting it in the oven. It makes the skin crispier. But only do this with brined or koshered birds. Let it dry uncovered in the refrigerator or out on the counter as you let it come to room temperature.

Trussing (Optional)

Trussing is tying up the limbs of the bird so that they lie close to the body. This prevents the limbs from burning or overcooking. It's necessary only for large birds, in my opinion. Use only natural-color cotton kitchen string. Accidentally using a synthetic string causes disaster both for your kitchen (it smells awful) and for your health (it's poisonous). Seasoning

This is the creative part of roasting. I won't go into a detailed explanation of seasoning here because I focus on it in other articles, but here are the basics. You can choose between two ways of seasoning your bird -- dry and wet. A dry seasoning is called a "rub" and is rubbed into the skin and cavities of the bird before it goes i

If you have the time and the inclination you can air dry your bird before putting it in the oven. It makes the skin crispier. But only do this with brined or koshered birds. Let it dry uncovered in the refrigerator or out on the counter as you let it come to room temperature.

Trussing (Optional)

Trussing is tying up the limbs of the bird so that they lie close to the body. This prevents the limbs from burning or overcooking. It's necessary only for large birds, in my opinion. Use only natural-color cotton kitchen string. Accidentally using a synthetic string causes disaster both for your kitchen (it smells awful) and for your health (it's poisonous). Seasoning

This is the creative part of roasting. I won't go into a detailed explanation of seasoning here because I focus on it in other articles, but here are the basics. You can choose between two ways of seasoning your bird -- dry and wet. A dry seasoning is called a "rub" and is rubbed into the skin and cavities of the bird before it goes i

Trussing (Optional)

Trussing is tying up the limbs of the bird so that they lie close to the body. This prevents the limbs from burning or overcooking. It's necessary only for large birds, in my opinion. Use only natural-color cotton kitchen string. Accidentally using a synthetic string causes disaster both for your kitchen (it smells awful) and for your health (it's poisonous). Seasoning

This is the creative part of roasting. I won't go into a detailed explanation of seasoning here because I focus on it in other articles, but here are the basics. You can choose between two ways of seasoning your bird -- dry and wet. A dry seasoning is called a "rub" and is rubbed into the skin and cavities of the bird before it goes in the oven. A wet seasoning is usually a fairly thick sauce that gets poured or smeared over the skin and cavities. A dry roast should be rubbed with oil or butter before being season. A wet seasoning should contain some sort of oil. The oil will help to keep the meat of the bird moist while it cooks.

Personally I prefer dry seasonings for roasting, mainly because wet seasonings often require basting and I like just to put the bird in the oven and forget about it until the timer goes off. In either case the seasoning should contain only ingredients that do not burn at the temperature at which the oven will be set (usually 350 degree Farenheit). There is nothing worse than finding your sauce has burned and ruined the flavor of the meat. (Teriyaki and soy sauce are particularly known for this.)

Combine spices that work well together. You can flavor your bird to match any kind of cuisine, from Mexican to Chinese. For ideas about seasoning, visit the Guide to Spicing. Be creative. Or be simple. Plain salt and pepper tastes remarkably good on a well-roasted bird and the cooked meat can always be covered with sauce later, before serving.

Heating the Oven

Preheating is a good idea when you're going to roast. For most small birds I just set it at 350 F and leave it there. For larger birds like geese and turkey, I like to set the temperature to 425 for 12-20 minutes and let the skin on the back brown, then flip the bird over, turn the heat down to 350 and leave it there the rest of the time. You'll hear a lot of argument about how long a bird should stay in the oven.

I think that most of the disagreement stems from the fact that one's oven temperature gauge does not often match the actual temperature inside one's oven. If you cook a lot you should have an oven thermometer and you should be aware of how far off your gauges are. Compensate if your oven runs hot or cold and really try to make sure the temperature inside the oven is within a few degrees of 350 F. If you don't have a thermometer and you know your oven is off, you'll just have to play it by ear (recommendations on how to do that will follow).

Cooking Time

There are some real disagreements over the proper cooking time. I don't worry much about how long I'm cooking a bird if it's been properly oiled and seasoned. I count on about 90 minutes for an average 5 pound chicken, and 90 minutes for an 8 pound duck, and about 4-4.5 hours for a 20-25 pound turkey. The only bird I use a meat thermometer on is a large turkey. The temperature of the middle of the breast meat should be over 160 before you remove it from the oven, but it doesn't have to be much over it.

A turkey is also the only bird I roast at two different temperatures, or that I turn over. I roast it face down at 425 F in a preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. Then I take it out (carefully) and flip it over and put it back in the oven, turning the heat down to 350 for the rest of the time it's cooking.

Basting

I gave up basting birds years ago, since I like to keep things simple. If I want a wet sauce I tend to braise instead of ro