(Not Really) Bangladeshi Wedding Chicken

No nuptials needed, just let salt, acid, and time do the hard work for you

Hi All!

(What I actually want to say is Hi Y’all, but I’m not southern so I don’t think I can get away with that. I am currently accepting intro suggestions in the comments below.)

Welcome to the first installment of the bigger and badder Hot Dish. We’re kicking things off with this killer roast chicken recipe. I know, I know. How many roast chicken recipes does anyone need? Just this one. I promise. 

Because it’s the time of year when I’m always looking for an excuse to turn the oven on to heat our basement apartment, I’ve been roasting birdies every week. I roasted them under bricks, low-temp, high-temp, wet-brine, dry-brine, buttermilk brine, and hot damn, I think I finally cracked the code for supremely juicy, flavorful, tender meat with crisp brown skin—that’s totally foolproof. It does take some advanced planning, but all the work is done for you by the actions of salt, acid, and time.

This roast chicken is inspired by biye barir roast, which translates to wedding house roast. It’s one of many dishes you traditionally see served at a Bangladeshi wedding or special occasion. My amu made it for my graduations, birthdays, and, yes, for our wedding!

In the authentic version, the chicken is cut in half or into quarters, then cooked with a technique called bhuna. Bhuna is essentially a low-moisture stovetop braise with a lot of stirring. The small amount of cooking liquid is repeatedly cooked down, browned, and deglazed, resulting in deep flavor from layers of browning coupled with fall-apart tender meat.