31 Comments

In my job as a library programmer, my group introduction of choice is usually "Greetings, Nerds!"

But also, as a southerner, y'all is a great word and I think more people should use it! I say do what feels right!

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Greetings, Nerds is fantastic!

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There are never enough roast chicken recipes - thanks for adding on a few 'off script' style riffs at the end too!

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I spent a long time thinking about the intro greeting, and here are my suggestions:

The Generic: Hey Everyone! Hey Folks! (Or the alternate spelling “Hey Folx”)

The Why Doesn’t English Have A Plural You: Hey Y’all (Sohla, it’s perfectly acceptable to use y’all! Many grammar nerds have debated this - it’s well documented if you’re bored and want a Google dive - and y’all is commonly accepted as the English you plural. So if you want to use that, you should!)

The Specific: Hey Dishers! (I debated Hey Hotties, but that seems like a *choice* and I’m not sure you wanted to make that. Under the same reasoning I also discarded “Hey Hot Dishers”)

Those are my top three categories for intro suggestions. If you dislike those, Sohla and readers, I have alternates.

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Made two chickens this way for 10 friends last night. It was so easy to cook for a crowd! I will be making it again and again. Loved the recipie and the chicken came out so good I had a perfect time to educate everyone on dry bringing and marinating 😅. Can't wait for the next recipe.

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spread the gospel!

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hello! currently on the brine stage, this is gonna be dinner tonight. can you say more about what you mean by scraping the marinade? do you discard excess or mix into the potatoes? thanks!

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i just mean to use all of it. so if there is any extra sticking to the bag, use a spatula or your hands to scrape it out. You can just plop it right on the chicken and it will melt onto the potatoes as the chicken cooks

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ty! this turned out SO good, we’re definitely putting it into regular rotation. I usually have a hard time with the texture of chicken skin but this was so easy to eat

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Made this tonight for me and my girlfriend. I used some squash I had sitting around instead of potatoes. It tasted great even though I probably overcooked it a little by accident and I mangled the bird trying to figure out how to carve it. I will be doing this again for sure. Thanks for giving me the confidence to roast a whole chicken for the first time.

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Interesting. I've been thinking that I need a meal for my soon to be birthday and this whole chicken might fit the bill or menu main Hehe. now how to figure out the sides lol. thanks, Sohla for the meal recipes.

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I just made it! It came out great! Wish there was a way to add pics here to show it off. Will tag you on instagram!

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Everyone loved it! We were wondering what would be a good way to make it (spicy) hot. Is this originally more firy?

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it's traditionally flavored just like this, so more on the sweet and mild side, but you can swap in other spices to make it hot!

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Did the dry brine yesterday and in a couple of hours I’ll take the bird out of the marinade to roast! I’ve never roasted a whole chicken before so I’m pretty excited! I feel like your recipes have taught me how to put time and effort (which turns into love) in my food.

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Update: it was fantastic. I’ve never eaten a more perfect chicken breast in my lift. The crust is the best part.

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This looks great! Will this work with boneless skinless chicken breast? Can we just adjust the brining and cooking times (and if so, how)?

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For boneless, skinless chicken breast I recommend skipping the dry brine. Instead, mix the turmeric and salt into the yogurt marinade and let it marinade all together for no more than 24 hours. The potatoes will need a head start because the breast will cook much faster that the whole chicken. Cook the potatoes, prunes, and water at 400F for 30 minutes. Then top with the marinated breast and cook at 450F until charred and the center is at 155F, about 20 to 30 minutes depending on how thick they are. The crust won't be as pronounced without the skin but it'll still be tasty!

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So helpful!! Thanks so much!

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I signed up for this newsletter right away and I can't wait to try this recipe! I'm also really looking forward to your cook book. I really appreciate all the variations of this recipe. Also, as an expat southerner who now lives in New Mexico, I like y'all and still say it.

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What would it be like to use barberries instead of prunes/cherries/cranberries/raisins/apricots? Do you think they're too small?

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I think barberries would be REALLY good in this!

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I get paid on Friday and will be heading out to get the ingredients for this immediately. So excited to try it!!

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Love this recipe and can't wait to try it. So glad you've started a newsletter! I signed up right away. :)

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Love a good roasted chicken! My kid is allergic to dairy so maybe I should try subbing with cashew yogurt? In other South Asian dishes I usually just use lemon juice (she loves my chicken kebabs) but it seems like the fermented tang of yogurt cultures might be needed in this particular recipe.

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Lemon juice won’t have enough body for the crust, but any non dairy yogurt, like cashew, will totally work

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I made the BBQ version last night and it was DELICIOUS. I used as the veg base ~2 Lb sweet potatoes, a pound-ish of cauliflower & some prunes, seasoned w salt, smoked paprika, garlic powder & burlap & barrels’ dry carmelized onion & it was excellent, especially w the yogurt marinade on top. Will be making it again!

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