Of course, this dish is for show, pretty amazing when you break the salt crust to deliver a moist chicken with incredible flavour. No such thing as dry chicken breast. It is not a lot of extra work but there are a few tricks. My last crust did not quite form as it should and broke… the chicken was too salty, which is not the case when it is done right!   I have now figured out exactly what to do!

Match a chicken with a cast-iron pot, so that it just fits. Line the pot with foil so that you have extra foil on the side to pull the chicken out later. Make a bed of coarse salt in the bottom. Remove all the loose fat, and fill the chicken cavity with young leeks chopped fine and a few pepper corns. If you happen to have any, insert slices of truffle under the skin, haha… just joking this is not necessary. Lay the chicken on the bed of salt and completely cover with salt filling all the empty spots on the side. Use a lot of salt, I did not have quite enough, my first mistake. Roast at 375 for 85 minutes (for a medium chicken). Do not use convection, that was   probably my second mistake .

Add a lot of salt

Now, take out of the pot by lifting the foil onto a tray. Take a picture! Break the crust  away, lift the chicken out and transfer to a cutting board. Don’t save any of the juices as they will be too salty. (My third mistake). Remove the remaining salt  with a brush, carve the chicken and serve with a light butter sauce, sauteed mushrooms and jasmin rice.

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Chanterelles and white mushrooms

Butter sauce:

Melt about 1/4 cup butter, add 1/2 tsp flour, stir on low but do not brown, add 1 cup of chicken broth and 1 tsp of the juice from your chicken. Taste and add more if it is not salty enough. You can add the leeks from inside the chicken or serve them on the side.

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Do brush the salt away!

The salt:

Use any coarse salt, kosher or not. Bulk stores and supermarkets carry different kinds and sizes. The amount will vary with the chicken and pot. I guess 2 kg should do.