Perfectly Roasted Chicken

Step 1

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Step 2

Place chicken on work surface with the legs facing away from you. Using a boning knife, score the wings where they meet the body of the chicken. Hyperextend the wing bones to remove the wing but not the airline bones. Repeat this step on the other wing.

Step 3

Lay the chicken on it back with it legs facing away from you. De-bone the chicken starting with an incision along one side of the breast bone separating the meat from the rib cage until you reach where the hip meets the back of the chicken. Bring the knife down to just above the hip bone and cut, taking care not to rip the back skin of the bird.

Step 4

Remove the bones from the leg and thigh. Following the leg and thigh bone on either side, carefully scrape down the leg bone and then the thigh bone to remove meat from bones. Trim off any excess fat and discard. Repeat process with remaining half of chicken.

Step 5

Heat an ovenproof skillet, large enough to fit both pieces of chicken without crowding, over high heat and drizzle with oil. Lay the chicken flat on work surface. Season both sides with salt and the flesh side only with white pepper. When the oil in the skillet just begins to smoke, add chicken, skin side down. Transfer to oven and cook until skin becomes golden brown, and flesh just begins to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Serve immediately.