Roast chicken recipe: foil first, then high heat for the skin

This roast chicken recipe follows the method that Toño Rodríguez, chef of the Michelin-starred La Era de los Nogales in Sardas, Aragon, described to Heraldo de Aragón: seal the tray in foil so the bird cooks as if steamed at 160 °C, then uncover it and brown it at high heat. The thigh is done at 74 °C.

The restaurant has held one Michelin star since November 2024. His home version, the paper reported on 4 October, starts from seasoned chicken on lemon slices and sliced potatoes; he was talking about thighs. The quantities and times below are the house’s own, scaled to a whole bird. See also our roasted porcini and potatoes recipe.

Ingredients

Steam keeps the meat juicy and dry heat browns the skin; the foil decides which one is working.

• 1 whole chicken, about 1.6 kg
• 800 g waxy potatoes, in 5 mm slices
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 1 lemon, in 6 slices
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 100 ml dry white wine or water
• 12 g fine salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Heat the oven to 160 °C. Pat the chicken dry and season it inside and out with two thirds of the salt and the pepper.
2. Toss the potatoes and onion in a deep roasting tray with 2 tbsp of the oil and the remaining salt, then pour in the wine. That liquid becomes the steam.
3. Lay the lemon slices in the middle and sit the chicken on them, breast up. The lemon lifts the bird off the base and scents the steam.
4. Seal the tray tightly with foil, tented clear of the skin, and roast for 1 hour 15 minutes. Trapped steam cooks the breast through without drying it.
5. Remove the foil and raise the oven to 220 °C. Brush the skin with the last spoonful of oil: fat on a drying surface is what browns.
6. Roast uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes, until the skin is deep golden and a thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh, away from the bone, reads 74 °C.
7. Rest for 10 minutes before carving, so the juices stay in the meat.

Getting the skin crisp after steaming

Steam leaves the skin wet, and wet skin does not brown. If more than a finger of liquid is left when the foil comes off, pour the excess into a small pan and reduce it to a sauce.

Roast chicken recipe FAQ

Can I make it ahead? Yes. Rodríguez says the covered phase can be done in the morning or the day before. Refrigerate the tray and, as the bird starts cold, give it 30 to 35 minutes uncovered at 200 °C.

Can I use chicken legs instead? Yes, and that is closer to what the chef described: one hour covered at 160 °C, then around 10 minutes uncovered at 200 to 220 °C.

Do I need a thermometer? It is the only reliable check. Without one, pierce the thickest part of the thigh: the juices should run clear.