{"id":882,"date":"2017-04-21T09:00:40","date_gmt":"2017-04-21T15:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/villasentieri.com\/?post_type=recipe&p=882"},"modified":"2026-09-02T10:59:20","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T17:59:20","slug":"italian-slow-roasted-chicken-recipe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/villasentieri.com\/index.php\/2017\/04\/21\/italian-slow-roasted-chicken-recipe\/","title":{"rendered":"Italian Slow-Roasted Chicken or Turkey"},"content":{"rendered":"

April 21, 2017<\/span><\/p>\n

For two countries that are geographically so close, Italy and France couldn\u2019t be further apart on views of how to roast poultry.<\/p>\n

The French typically roast quickly and at high temperature.<\/p>\n

Italians are masters of the low and slow approach.<\/p>\n

Italian roast chicken (or turkey, for that matter) literally falls apart.\u00a0 The French version does not.\u00a0 It\u2019s a matter of style and technique, not quality or skill.<\/p>\n

The usual style in the United States leans more toward France than Italy.\u00a0 It\u2019s the basis of the style of roasting described in most modern cookbooks and cooking magazines; higher temperatures rather than lower temperatures and yanking the bird out of the oven as soon as it reaches the minimum acceptable temperature to be \u201ccooked\u201d and \u201csafe.\u201d\u00a0 Even when these magazines try to champion the approach of low and slow, they almost always miss the boat. \u00a0They miss the boat because they are still focused on the thermometer approach.<\/p>\n

You can\u2019t do low and slow if you\u2019re focused on getting the bird out of the oven as soon as it hits the \u201csafe\u201d temperature.\u00a0 Italian roast chicken is more like \u201cpulled\u201d chicken than the minimally cooked French version.\u00a0 The whole mouthfeel is different.\u00a0 So is the taste.<\/p>\n

What I didn\u2019t understand growing up is that my mother\u2019s roast chicken and turkey drew from a broader Italian approach.<\/p>\n

A few years ago we were in Tuscany having lunch with my husband\u2019s Great Uncle Beppe and his family.<\/p>\n

When the roast chicken was served, it was just like my mother\u2019s!\u00a0 Seasoned with garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper and roasted slowly, till it basically fell apart.<\/p>\n

My mother\u2019s mother came to the United States from Calabria around the turn of the 20th century at four years of age.\u00a0 Here I was, nearly a century later in a province at the other end of the Italian peninsula eating chicken that could have been my mother\u2019s, the way she learned it from her mother, who learned it from her mother.<\/p>\n

I think that was a turning point for me in wanting to better understand Italian food traditions throughout the country and even throughout the Italian diaspora around the world.<\/p>\n

Another amazing thing, when I think about it, is that my mother brined her chicken for an hour before cooking.\u00a0 We\u2019re talking the 1960\u2019s here (probably the 1950\u2019s too but I\u2019m too young to remember that) way before brining was ever mentioned in cooking circles.\u00a0 I can\u2019t tell you why she did it or how it started but when I was learning to cook under her guidance, brining was always the first step for any recipe that included chicken.

<\/div>
\n
\n
\n
\"\"<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n \n <\/div>\n

Italian Slow-Roasted Chicken or Turkey<\/h2>\n
<\/div>\n \n
<\/div>\n
This is a no-recipe recipe. I never measure the seasonings. It\u2019s really pretty hard to use an inappropriate amount. The cooking time is pretty forgiving, too. Until you get the hang of it, I suggest planning on the longer cooking time and the higher temperature. If the chicken or turkey is falling-apart tender before you\u2019re ready for it, just reduce the oven to 150\u00b0F to keep the bird warm. \r\nMy mother would usually brine the bird for about an hour before cooking. Time permitting, I do the same. This basic recipe works for everything from a three pound chicken to an 18 pound turkey.\r\nJust for a point of reference, the pictures feature a 12 pound turkey.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n Print Recipe<\/a>\n Pin Recipe<\/a>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
Prep Time <\/span>10 minutes<\/span><\/span> mins<\/span><\/span><\/div>
Cook Time <\/span>40 minutes<\/span><\/span> mins<\/span><\/span><\/div>
Total Time <\/span>50 minutes<\/span><\/span> mins<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Servings: <\/span>4<\/span> people<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/g>\n\n\n\n<\/clipPath>\n<\/defs>\n<\/svg>\n<\/span> Ingredients<\/a>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/g>\n\n\n\n<\/clipPath>\n<\/defs>\n<\/svg>\n<\/span> Method<\/a>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span> Notes<\/a><\/div>\n
\n
\n

Ingredients
<\/div>