Roast Chicken Pieces with Rosemary (Bittman)

Butter Saves the Day
    By MARK BITTMAN


 This is a recipe that may have you grappling with your conscience,
one that uses butter for nothing more than its flavor and a
silken-mouth feel to counter the dryness and mild flavor too often
associated with chicken. To make it, you loosen the skin of any
chicken part and tuck a bit of butter between skin and flesh, along
with a large pinch - or small handful - of chopped herb. I began
doing this with breasts, which need the most help, but it is killer
with thighs, which are more moist and flavorful by nature.

 This is a moderate amount of butter by today's standards, a teaspoon
or so for each piece, for a total of two or three tablespoons.
(A similar recipe 20 years ago would have called for eight
tablespoons.) Yet the butter makes a huge difference, turning
ordinary chicken into something quite luxurious, lovely over plain
white rice or with bread.

 It also makes the cooking laughably easy. When I began toying with
this recipe, I envisioned grilling. But there was too much work
involved. The butter leaked out from under the skin and flared up on
the coals, and I wound up basting the chicken, which was exactly what
I was trying to avoid. (After all, this is the forerunner of the
Butterball: no basting.) Broiling worked fine, but required attention.

 With a welcome break from the heat last week, I was willing to turn
on the oven, and roasting revealed itself as the best method. You
simply set the chicken in a very hot oven, and leave it there until
it's done about a half an hour later. The pieces cook through in
about the same amount of time as they brown.

 I experimented with about every common herb I could lay my hands on,
and while a few were unsuccessful - parsley became somewhat muddy,
and thyme overpoweringly strong - I preferred rosemary, tarragon,
dill and chervil. This isn't surprising, perhaps, because these are
all "chicken" herbs. The quantity varies from herb to herb, and
probably to taste as well, but I felt that the upper margins were
more forgiving than the lower. That is, when in doubt, use too much
rather than too little.

 Roast Chicken With Herbs and Butter
 ===================================
   4 chicken breast halves or 8 thighs or drumsticks,
      or any combination
   8 pats of butter, for a total of 2 or 3 tablespoons
   4 teaspoons fresh rosemary leaves or
      2 teaspoons fresh tarragon leaves or
      2 tablespoons snipped fresh dill or chervil, or to taste
   Salt and pepper
   1 lemon, cut into quarters.

1. Heat oven to 500 degrees. Loosen skin of chicken and insert a pat
   or two of butter, depending on size of chicken pieces, and a
   portion of herbs under skin. Sprinkle skin with salt and pepper
   and place pieces, skin side up, in a roasting pan just large
   enough to accommodate chicken.

2. Roast, turning pan from front to back once after 15 minutes.
   (Do not turn pieces.) Chicken is usually done when nicely browned,
   10 to 15 minutes later (about 30 minutes total), but you can cut
   into a piece or two to make sure juices are running clear. Serve
   hot or warm, with lemon wedges. Yield: 4 servings.