Published March 1, 2009. From Cook's Illustrated.
For our roast chicken recipe, we wanted an evenly glazed chicken with crisp skin and moist meat. To dehydrate the skin and make it crisp, we separated it from the meat and poked holes in the fat deposits to allow rendered fat to escape, then rubbed the skin with salt and baking powder before vertically roasting the chicken. We found that resting the roasted bird before blasting it with higher heat resulted in the kind of burnished skin we were looking for, especially after we thickened the glaze with cornstarch to help it adhere to the bird.
If using table salt, reduce the amount to 2½ teaspoons. For best results, use a 16-ounce can of beer. A larger can will work, but avoid using a 12-ounce can, as it will not support the weight of the chicken. A vertical roaster can be used in place of the beer can, but we recommend only using a model that can be placed in a roasting pan. Taste your marmalade before using it; if it is overly sweet, reduce the amount of maple syrup in the glaze by 2 tablespoons. Trappist Seville Orange Marmalade is the test kitchen’s preferred brand.
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