It would seem like cooking a chicken completely buried in salt would result in a salty chicken. oh no! the salt solidifies into a crust and does *not* penetrate the chicken. Instead you have the most tender delicate moist chicken ever.. and healthy too!

This technique can be used on whole fish as well.

1 clove garlic
1 sprig fresh rosemary, or 1 tablespoon rosemary leaves preserves in salt, or dried and blanched
1 chicken, about 3 pounds
about 2 pounds coarse salt (I use rock salt)

1. Clean the chicken, stuff it with the herbs and garlic. Make a 1 inch layer of coarse grained salt on the bottom a terracotta casserole (I use my Creuset) place chicken on salt. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

2. pour remaining salt over chicken.

Cover casserole dish with its lid and place in the oven. bake for 10 minutes, then raise temperature to 400 and bake for 1-1/2 hours longer. remove casserole from oven and let rest for two minutes

3. A solid crust should have formed. Crack the crust with a wooden meat pounder or a heavy wooden spoon (Philippe uses a hammer. really)

4. Transfer to a serving dish. The chicken should be golden brown and very juicy. Brush off any loose salt and serve immediately.

some changes I've made-- I tend to really stuff the chicken-- three or four galic cloves, and lots of parsley, thyme and rosemary. you get some wonderful flavor. Also, be sure to remove the skin after you remove the salt-- it is too salty to eat, even if the chicken is fine.

I've heard stories, now and again, that cooking chicken this way results in something special, but I've never gotten around to trying it. Can it really be that different from ordinary roast chicken?

Yes, it is. You have never had such moist, tender, flavorful chicken. I have never, and I've eaten a lot, in a lot of different countries. I consider this teh winner. But don't believe me-- cook it!

I've tried a similar recipe with whole salmon and it is delicious. will now try it with chicken

Pal Andi tried this recipe, and it wasn't quite like mine-- because I didn't mention my changes.

I've taken to stuffin gthe cavity entirely with fresh herbs and quartered onions. I also slice several cloves of garlic and slide them under the skin.

a couple times I've stuffed the inside with quartered organges, which is good also.