Whole Salt‑Roasted Chicken in the Oven: a lazy‑person’s easy recipe (warning: some raw chicken pics might gross you out!)
add_circle Pros
- Prep is a breeze – just salt, a skillet, and the oven. No need to baste, flip, or fuss with a bunch of spices.
- The salt crust acts like a steam‑bag, keeping the chicken unbelievably juicy from edge to core.
- Meat comes out tender and fall‑off‑the‑bone, making it ideal for hearty sandwiches, salads, or just digging in straight from the pan.
- Cleanup is minimal; the crust crumbles away and you’re left with a mostly clean skillet.
- Great value for money – any affordable broiler‑type chicken works, so you don’t have to splurge.
- Set‑and‑forget cooking – pop it in, walk away, and come back to a perfectly roasted bird without any mid‑cook checks.
- You can easily tweak the flavor by tossing herbs, garlic, or a splash of lemon on top of the salt before it goes in the oven.
remove_circle Cons
- A small or very lean bird can end up dry and rubbery, so the method shines with a plump, fatty chicken.
- The salt crust can be a bit messy to scrape off and might leave a salty film on the pan if you don’t clean it right away.
- You’ll need a heavy pan – cast iron or a thick‑bottomed stainless skillet that can handle 200‑230 °C without warping.
- The skin stays soft under the salt, so you won’t get that crispy crackle some people love.
- Occasionally you’ll bite into a stray feather if the processing missed a spot – it’s rare but can happen.
- It takes a good chunk of time – plan for a 1.5‑2‑hour roast, which isn’t ideal for last‑minute meals.
- Not the best choice for low‑sodium diets, since the whole bird is essentially seasoned in a salty crust.
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Editor's Summary
Honestly, this salt‑roasted whole chicken is the lazy‑cook’s secret weapon. You just dump a generous handful of coarse salt into a cast‑iron skillet, set the bird on its back, and let the oven do the work for about 1.5–2 hours. No basting, no extra seasoning, no flipping. The salt forms a crust that traps steam, so the meat stays juicy and falls right off the bone. It’s perfect for loading up sandwiches or tossing into a salad, especially if you grab a plump, fatty broiler‑type bird. The whole thing feels almost too easy, but the flavor and texture are surprisingly impressive.
Specifications
\nHey there! A while back my family decided to ditch all the processed meats. That left us scrambling for something tasty to pile on a sandwich. I tried boiled chicken breast, but it turned out bone‑dry. Frying can work if you dice it tiny or pound it thin, and baking it in a bag didn’t help either. Then I remembered a tip from a Donzova detective novel – roast a whole chicken on a bed of salt in the oven.
\nIt’s super simple:
\n\nRECIPE: dump a pack of coarse salt (grind #1) into a cast‑iron skillet, place the chicken on its back, and roast 1.5–2 hours at 200‑230 °C.
\nYou don’t need extra salt, basting, or a mid‑cook check. The salt gets hot and the bird steams itself. Toss in a few herbs or garlic if you want extra aroma.
\n\nIt works best with big, fatty broiler chickens. I wouldn’t use a soup‑type bird—it turns rubbery. Small birds usually end up drier.
\nI don’t stick to one brand; I just grab whatever’s on sale. The last time I stocked up at an Auchan, I chose a “Yaroslavsky broiler” – a 2 kg+ bird that cost just over 300 rubles (about 160 rubles per kilo).
\nWeight was the only thing that mattered—the other broilers were noticeably smaller.
\n\nThe birds are raised on clean feed that contains no pork, blood or meat‑and‑bone meal.
\n\n\n\nSorry, the whole‑package shot turned out too blurry.\n\nThis chicken was chilled, never frozen, which usually means better flavor.
\n\nPackaging: branded bag with a moisture‑absorbing pad to keep it fresh
Shelf life: 8 days at –2 °C to +2 °C.
Nutritional info (per 100 g): protein 16 g; fat 14 g.
Energy: 795.5 kJ / 190 kcal.
\nThe “Halal” line from JSC “Yaroslavsky broiler” is overseen by the Halal Audit Center in Kazan, and the birds are slaughtered by hand.
\n\nJust so you know, we don’t care if it’s halal or not—we picked this bird for its size, flavor, and the fact it would keep us fed for a while.
\n\n\nA quick note on “halal” and all that\n\n\nHalal means “permitted” in Arabic and usually describes food prepared according to Muslim dietary rules.
\n\n\n\n\n\nThe raw bird looked fine and had no odd smell.
\n \n\n\nYaroslavsky broiler reviews
All the feathers and surface bits were removed.
\n\n\nHalal broiler chicken reviews
In the “bikini zone” we found an un‑plucked patch. It was pretty gross—maybe that’s how they do it, or a sneaky way to charge us for a few extra grams of raw feathers?
\n\n\nUnshaven surprise!
I trimmed that piece of skin off and tossed it.
\n\n\nWhoa!Inside, the chicken was clean and smelled nothing at all.
\n\n\nIt’s practically singing: “Ahh, I’m coming in all glorious…”
A thin film clung to it, but it peeled off easily.
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I didn’t photograph the raw salted bird because I tossed it in the oven half‑asleep in the morning, and about an hour and a half later it was done while I got ready for work.
\n\n\nOven‑salted chicken: after photo
It looked super appetizing and smelled just right. All the fat melted into the salt.
\n\n\nSimple chicken recipe reviews
The skin turned paper‑thin, almost like parchment.
\n\n\nChicken skin after oven‑salt roasting
I let the chicken cool and headed off to work. When I got back, the family had already been picking at it, and one piece was missing a leg.
\n\n\nNobody besides me knows how to wash the skillet))
The meat turned out incredibly tender. It was practically fat‑free yet never dry. Honestly, that’s not a brand miracle—other broiler chickens are just as good—but I’d still recommend it.
If you’re not put off by that look! 😊
\n\n\nErotic chicken photoshootYou can check out my other food reviews here.
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