Hi All,
I plan to roast my first whole chicken over the weekend, and I would like to know if any of you, my fellow EF members, might have a good dry-rub recipe. I am aware that there are many recipes out on the web, but I am not sure if these recipes are entirely feasible given that some ingredients might not be readily available in Swiss supermarkets. Also, if I buy a whole chicken from, say, Migros, is there anything else that I need to do aside from preheating the oven, putting the chicken in an oven pan, dry-rubbing it, setting up a tin foil wall to prevent grease from splattering all over my oven, and then putting the chicken in the oven?
Much appreciated from a kitchen novice!

It's even easier than that. Just sprinkle some salt and pepper over the skin. Rub it in if you want. Foil shouldn't be necessary, but it's a good idea to use a roasting tin with a rack so that all the juices and fat run into the bottom of the tin, from where you can drain them to make gravy when it's cooked.

If you do cover it then uncover it for the last 15 mins of cooking so that it can brown. Also make sure that all the juices run clear when you poke it in the thigh area.

Now, regarding the rub, I can't help you with recipes, but I've used the ones from Nomu and they are really good. I love the African spice one. I've found them at Globus from time to time.

http://www.nomu.co.za/products/rubs

first you must choke 'ze chicken..

Whatever you do...avoid Aromat and Streumi at all cost!

Ace1 has it right and I'd emphasize keeping the skin on while roasting - it keeps the chicken from drying out.

The ultimate secret to roast chicken with a crispy skin (regardless of rub) is as follows:

Make sure the chicken is completely dry before putting in the oven.
Pre-heat oven to 220 deg. C, and put the chicken in for 20 minutes. Afterwards turn heat down to 180 deg. C until done (usually another 30 minutes or so).

The initial high heat is the secret: try it, and you will always do it that way!

This is the standard dry rub I always make up (usually 3x this batch at a time):

1 tsp ground habanero (I dry and grind my own)

2 tbsp onion powder

2 tsp dried thyme

2 tsp ground allspice

1 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp cloves

Great on tuna steaks as well!

Tom

P.S. adjust amounts according to taste, I generally add more habanero and garlic.

Even better, rub it all over with room-temperature butter (don't be afraid to get your hands dirty), then proceed as suggested.

Also, it's good to turn it every 15 minutes or so, 1/3 at a time (gives more even skin).

Tom

Replace "butter" with "olive oil"...much healthier and easier on the waistline.

Wow, good stuff - thank you, all. Lots of useful things that I didn't even think about - here's to a tasty roast chicken with crispy skin and juicy, fully-cooked meat!

Support chickens!!!

You also need to let it rest for 15 minutes out of the oven before carving. Cover it loosely with foil and perhaps a t-towel.

This will ensure it is as juicy as possible.

Sorry, Tom, I beg to differ on that point.
Covering the roast chicken afterwards means that steam will gather underneath and make the crispy skin soggy. Same reason you don't put chips (french fries, pomme frites) in an enclosed takeaway container: they get soggy.

OK, killer tip number 2 for roast chicken: in addition to the high initial heat, first take a spoon and separate the skin from the breast meat. Stuff the cavity between the skin and meat with a lemon/herb/olive oil mixture (rosemary, thyme, sage, garlic...whatever you have).

For inside the chicken, a single whole lemon, with holes poked all around, is perfect to keep the meat juicy and succulent.

Beer can chicken is one of my favourite ways to cook a chook. And it looks good too.

Here is one way to do it
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/g...ipe/index.html

Just work out your own preferred spice mix with whatever you have in the pantry. Lots of options with google "beer can chicken"

True.

We have two ovens and rest the meat in the second one on fan-oven on a low heat so the skin stays crispy.
I usually chuck half a lemon inside too.

But I maintain that resting the meat is important to distribute the juices.

O.K. so chicken tonight then You guys made me hungry.

Btw. any recipes for good steaks? or rather ideas what kind of meat I should buy? I tried to fry it last night but it was quite hard so no success.

There are recipes and hints on many English sites but then I have no idea what is what in German so maybe you have more experience? Marinades are easy but I would appreciate if someone told me what cut shall I buy and how is it named in German. Merci

OK, Isabela, we are getting off topic here.
Concerning steak, first off it is very expensive here. Prepare to take out a mortgage when buying steak.
Entrecote is what you want.
Cut: at least half an inch thick.
Salt and pepper is all you really need.
Set your BBQ to ultra-high, then sear each side about 2 minutes each. You want to see flames.
If you like very rare, it's already done.
If not, turn BBQ to low heat and continue to cook with cover closed for an additional 1-5 minutes depending on how done you want it to be.
It's the high initial heat that's important.
If you don't have a BBQ, get one.
Otherwise use a heavy cast-iron pan (hard to find here).
Heat on full blast until it's roasting hot, then repeat as above.
You want lots of smoke and sizzling juices.

I'd add this (also off-topic to the original thread):

Let the steaks warm up to room temperature before cooking (otherwise the middle will be fridge-cold when cooking is finished).

As before with the chicken, allow the steak to rest for a few minutes in a warm place after cooking on the grill.

Not wanting to contradict the other steak-related reply, but personally I always (and frequently) pan-fry my steaks. Get a good solid frying pan, add a little butter and heat on the highest setting until it's nearly, but not quite smoking. Let it sear on one side for a minute or so, then flip it to the other, then turn down to perhaps 60% or so. Cooking time will vary with the cut of meat, its thickness and the initial temperature. For a medium-rare fillet steak (I eat no other) about another two minutes per side should suffice, but if you're not sure spike it with something to see if it's still bloody in the middle and cook till it's how you like it.

Then let it rest for a minute or five while you deglaze the pan and make a sauce (next lesson to follow).