Fast and Easy Recipe For Roast Chicken in a Cast-Iron Skillet

Ingredients

one 3- to 3.5-pound chicken
1 tablespoon kosher salt
coarsely ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

To mix things up, Hopkins suggests stuffing the bird with rosemary or a cut lemon or adding chopped carrots to the skillet halfway through. Says the chef: "I can rinse, dry, season, and get the bird in the oven, and by the time I help my kids with their homework, dinner's ready."

1. Place your oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees.
2. Get yourself a good chicken — 3 to 3.5 pounds is ideal — and rinse it inside and out under cold running water. Using paper towels, dry the bird thoroughly inside and out. The chicken must be bone dry or it will steam rather than brown.
3. Set it in a cast-iron skillet and generously season it with 1 tablespoon kosher salt and coarsely ground black pepper to taste.
4. Place the skillet in the preheated oven and go about your business.
5. For doneness: Slit underside of thigh — juices must run clear (about 45 minutes). The high heat turns the chicken a golden brown, and it's juicy as hell.

Serves 4.

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