Frango Assado com Batatas

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Rimmed roasting tray, at least 23 x 33 cm (9 x 13 in)
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Small bowl for the rub
• •Kitchen twine, optional

Instructions

1. 1

   Dry the chicken

   Heat the oven to 220 C (425 F) with a rack in the lower middle. Pat the chicken dry all over, inside and out, and set it breast side up on a tray or plate. The skin should feel dry and a little tacky, not slick. Water on the surface slows browning, so if you skip this, the skin cooks pale and soft while you wonder what happened.

   A smaller whole chicken roasts better than a giant one. Big birds make beginners nervous and often dry out before the legs finish. Buy the ordinary one.
2. 2

   Make the rub

   In a small bowl, stir the garlic, limão juice, oil, colorau, oregano, black pepper, torn bay leaves, and 2 teaspoons of the salt. It should look red-gold and smell sharp, garlicky, and alive. The oil spreads the seasoning and helps browning, the limão brightens the meat, and the colorau gives that Sunday color without a packet doing a bad impression of flavor.

   Tempero pronto stays on the shelf. If a powder can only taste like salt and mystery, it doesn't get to boss your chicken around.
3. 3

   Season and rest

   Rub about two-thirds of the mixture over the chicken, inside the cavity and under the breast and thigh skin where your fingers can gently reach. Every visible patch should have a thin coat. Seasoning only the outside flavors mostly the skin; getting some under the skin teaches the meat too. Let the chicken sit for 20 minutes while the oven heats fully, because salt needs a little time to start moving inward.

4. 4

   Arrange the tray

   Put the onion and potatoes in a rimmed roasting tray. Add the remaining rub and the last 1/2 teaspoon salt, then toss until the potatoes are glossy. Spread the onion in the center, set the chicken breast side up on top, and arrange the potatoes around it in one layer, cut sides down. If the potatoes sit in a pile, they sweat and soften instead of dourar. Use two trays if you need the space.

5. 5

   Start hot

   Tuck the wing tips under the chicken and tie the legs if you have twine. Pour 1/4 cup water into a corner of the tray, not over the skin. Roast for 20 minutes, until the skin starts to freckle with color and the potato edges begin to brown. That hot start builds color before the chicken releases much juice; the water protects the onion from burning before it can turn sweet.

6. 6

   Lower and finish

   Lower the oven to 190 C (375 F) and roast 45 to 60 minutes more, turning the potatoes once and spooning tray juices over the potatoes, not over the chicken skin. Add another splash of water if the tray goes dry. The chicken is done when an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh reads 74 C (165 F) and the leg feels loose when nudged. No thermometer? Pierce the thigh and look for clear juices, but a thermometer is cheaper than guessing. If the skin colors too fast, lay foil loosely over the top. If the chicken finishes before the potatoes, move it to a board and give the batatas 10 more minutes.

7. 7

   Rest and carve

   Rest the chicken on a board for 10 to 15 minutes before carving. It should sit quietly while the potatoes finish looking golden and the tray juices settle. Cut too soon and the cutting board drinks the lunch. Rest it, then carve into legs, thighs, wings, and breast pieces.

8. 8

   Serve the pê-efe

   Spoon the soft onion and glossy tray juices over the carved chicken and potatoes, then scatter parsley if using. Serve with arroz soltinho, feijão, and couve refogada or a sharp green salad. That's the pê-efe: rice, beans, the chicken, and greens. Sounds plain? Plain is how a country eats well on a Tuesday and still recognizes itself on Sunday.

Chef Tips

• •Use fine salt if you're measuring by teaspoons. Coarse salt and fine salt don't pack the same way, and a beginner deserves numbers that behave.
• •The honest Tuesday shortcut: use 8 bone-in chicken thighs or drumsticks instead of a whole bird. Same rub, same potatoes, about 45 to 55 minutes total roasting time. The cost is that you lose the Sunday centerpiece and the carcass for broth, but dinner gets solved.
• •Cut the potatoes bigger than you think, about 1 1/2-inch chunks. Tiny pieces collapse before the chicken is ready, then you have oily potato crumbs and an attitude.
• •If the tray juices look too watery at the end, move the chicken out and return the tray to the oven for 5 to 10 minutes. The liquid should reduce until it looks glossy and tastes like garlic, onion, and chicken, not like lemon water.
• •Save the bones. Cover them with water, onion ends, carrot, bay, and a little salt, then simmer for a simple broth. One roast chicken can feed you twice if you let it.

Advance Preparation

• •For better flavor, season the chicken with the garlic, oil, colorau, oregano, pepper, bay, and salt up to 24 hours ahead, then refrigerate uncovered. Add the limão juice only 30 to 60 minutes before roasting so the acid doesn't soften the surface too much.
• •Cut potatoes up to 4 hours ahead and keep them covered with water in the fridge. Dry them very well before roasting, because wet potatoes don't brown.
• •Leftover chicken keeps 4 days in the fridge. The meat freezes well for up to 2 months; the roasted potatoes are better eaten within 3 days.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 310g)