Cooking on a salt pad is one of the simple and creative ways to bake a whole chicken. The bird turns out to be very juicy, fragrant, with a ruddy crispy crust. It is not a shame to serve such a dish on the festive table.
Having once cooked chicken on salt, later you will return to this recipe more than once. This baking method is only suitable for a whole carcass. The bird is not greasy, but very juicy, since it is not digested in its own juice. The salt cushion distributes heat, prevents the carcass from burning and absorbs the melted fat and excess moisture. The chicken is baked evenly, taking in the right amount of salt. The meat will never be too salty. This is the whole "magic" of this cooking method.
Required Ingredients
You will need:
- chicken carcass;
- salt;
- 4-5 cloves of garlic;
- ground black pepper to taste.
The chicken can be of any size. Salt is taken at the rate of 500 g per 1 kg of poultry. It is important that the salt is coarse, not fine.
Step by step cooking
First step
Wash the outside and inside of the chicken. You do not need to remove the skin, but the insides and excess fat should be removed. It is advisable to connect the legs together and fix it with a thread so that the skin is not damaged during the cooking process.
Add some pepper to the chicken and add your favorite spices if desired. If you lubricate the carcass with turmeric, it will take on a pleasant color. Putting a lemon inside will make the meat very flavorful.
Then you can do nothing with the chicken. However, some housewives cut the carcass along the breast. This is a matter of personal preference in terms of the aesthetics of the dish; the presence or absence of a cut does not affect its taste.
Second step
Preheat the oven to 180 ° C. At temperatures above 250 ° C, the crust will burn treacherously. Cover the baking sheet with special paper, sprinkle salt on it, making a kind of pillow. It is important that the salt layer is even. Sprinkle it with water.
Third step
Place the chicken back over the salt. If you made an incision on the chest, then place the bird with the insides down, otherwise it will not turn out juicy. Put garlic cloves next to it, you can directly in the husk. When heated, the garlic will give off its flavor, and the meat will quickly absorb it.
Fourth step
Place the chicken in the oven for 1 to 2 hours. The exact cooking time depends on the size of the poultry - on average 40-50 minutes per 1 kg of carcass. Forget the chicken for this time. During the cooking process, it is forbidden to turn it over and pierce it. The birds are ready when the juice released from it is clear. By that time, the skin looks like thin parchment paper. After baking, let the chicken stand for 10-15 minutes. During this time, the juices are evenly distributed over the meat.
The chicken can be served directly on the salt cushion. Fresh vegetables or rice will be an excellent side dish for it.
