Golden-Crisp Brined Roast Chicken

1. Brine the Chicken

Dissolve ½ cup of salt in 2 quarts of cold water in a large container. Submerge the whole chicken in the brine, cover the container, and refrigerate for 1 hour.

2. Dry the Chicken

Remove the chicken from the brine and pat it thoroughly dry with paper towels.

3. Preheat Oven

Adjust your oven rack to the middle position, place a roasting pan on the rack, and preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

4. Prepare V-Rack

Coat a V-rack with vegetable oil spray and set it aside.

5. Butter Under Skin

Gently loosen the skin of the chicken with your fingers and place the softened butter under the skin, pressing it to distribute evenly.

6. Prepare Chicken for Roasting

Tuck the wings back behind the chicken, rub the skin with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and season generously with pepper. Place the chicken, wing side up, on the prepared V-rack.

7. First Roast

Place the V-rack in the roasting pan and roast the chicken for 15 minutes.

8. Rotate Chicken

Carefully remove the roasting pan from the oven and use paper towels to rotate the chicken so the opposite wing side is up. Return the pan to the oven and roast for another 15 minutes.

9. Final Roast

Rotate the chicken breast side up and continue roasting until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees in the breast and 175 degrees in the thighs, which should take about 20 to 25 minutes longer.

10. Rest the Chicken

Transfer the chicken to a carving board and let it rest for 20 minutes before carving.