Whole Chicken

"Talk to most chefs and they'll say they'd want a perfectly roasted chicken for their last meal," says Sean Brock. For his definitive version, Brock starts with superflavorful heritage-breed chickens, but the key to the dish is prepoaching the bird in an immersion circulator. Because most home cooks don't have access to this equipment, we adapted the recipe to work in a home kitchen.

This herb-scented, brined bird packs more flavor than a basic roast chicken.

For as long as I can remember, my mom has been cooking chicken in oven bags, those oven-safe plastic bags. So when I recently started roasting chicken in a brown paper bag, I felt sort of like I was going back to my roots. It works great because the paper bag traps just enough steam to make the chicken supermoist and tender, while at the same time letting enough steam escape to allow the skin to get golden brown. It always amazes me that the bag doesn’t catch on fire—so much so that I think of this as half recipe and half magic trick. Just make sure your broiler is turned off and the bag is not touching the top of the oven.

Some folks hear “barbecue chicken” and think of seriously sauced-up pieces that are slick and slippery and sweet. I like that kind of chicken just fine and have my own recipe for it, which I call “Wishbone Chicken” (page 36). However, in the traditional barbecue world, “barbecue chicken” is dry-rubbed, without sauce. This is my personal favorite way to prepare barbecue chicken. If you like, you can serve it with some sauce on the side. Sometimes, if we’re not doing a Lowcountry Boil, I make this at our cooking school’s Friday night dinner. It’s simple to make and a great way to test out a new smoker and get your feet wet. I like to use eight-piece cut-up chickens instead of halves or quarters; this way you get more pieces with options for white and dark meat, and it’s better for those who want only one piece. Notice this recipe calls for just chicken and rub—that’s it.

It doesn't get any more classic French than this. The restaurant uses France's iconic (and expensive) Bresse chicken, but any flavorful, free-range bird will do. If fresh morels are not available, put 1 1/2 ounces dried morels into a bowl, cover with boiling water, and let soak for 30 minutes. Set a sieve over a small bowl and strain mushrooms, reserving liquid. Cook according to recipe instructions, pouring in mushroom liquid with wine, leaving any sediment behind. You can also swap out the morels for crimini (baby bella) mushrooms. What you'll lose in taste you'll gain in savings. Use it to buy a decent bottle of Burgundy—white or red—to drink with the dish.

The secret to a roast chicken with crispy skin and tender meat? Salting the chicken and letting it sit for at least a few hours. A little bit of beer really amps up the pan juices.

The tortillas and filling are layered (instead of rolled) to reduce prep time.

This iconic regional dish incorporates soy sauce, evidence of the strong influence of the Japanese and Chinese communities in Peru. The intensely flavored marinade, bright with lime juice and zesty with garlic, deeply seasons the meat, and the grill gives it a beautiful sear. We've provided a range for the portion size, because while some home cooks may be content with a quarter chicken per person, many Peruvian restaurants and takeout places serve each customer a half chicken (even here in the States, where chickens tend to be on the large side).

Save a roast chicken plus the leftover carcass to use for the Chicken Soup with Root Vegetables.

At John J. Jeffries, the chicken is served with seasonal heirloom tomatoes, arugula, and watercress. Ask the butcher to quarter the chicken and remove the backbone. Start preparing the recipe at least seven hours ahead.

Piri-piri chicken is a spicy dish with roots in both Africa and Portugal. The dish was created in Angola and Mozambique when Portuguese settlers arrived with chile peppers (known as piri-piri in Swahili). Timing note: The chicken needs to marinate for at least four hours before being grilled.

The temple complex at Angkor Wat is one of the archeological wonders of the world. It's not, however, the most interesting site in Siem Reap, Cambodia. That honor goes to the less-visited Bayon temple, built at the end of the twelfth century A.D. by the Buddhist king, Jayavarman VII. On its stone walls an amazing series of bas-reliefs tell the story of the victory of the Khmers over the Thais. The obligatory heroic and horrific battle scenes are portrayed, but what caught my eye are the pictures of the army supply trains, encampments, field kitchens, and yes, some of the earliest depictions of Asian barbecue. Specifically, you'll see chicken and other meats skewered on split sticks and grilled over pyramid-shaped fires. Fast forward nine hundred years to the parking lot of Angkor Wat where you'll find chicken grilled on split wooden sticks over an open fire, exactly as it was done during the height of the Khmer empire. This recipe may look complicated, but it's really just a series of simple steps.

A certain well-known take-out chicken with eleven herbs and spices is not the only Southern fried chicken that is seasoned with a complex blend of herbs and spices; it is just one of many. You can experiment with the combination until you have your own unique blend. If you don't have a couple of the spices on hand, feel free to omit them. When deep-fried, which is the way I prefer to cook this one, the chicken makes great picnic fare because it stays crispy long after it's cold, and the spice and herb seasoning stands up well to other highly seasoned picnic food.

Position racks in the top third and the bottom third of the oven so that the chicken and the carrots can roast together.

This is an incredibly simple recipe with an impressive payoff: Golden roasted chicken is dressed up with beautiful bunches of sweet grapes.

Although the recipe calls for boneless skinless breasts, you can use chicken tenders or a cut-up chicken with skin, but the cooking time will vary (see Cook's Note). If you want to use fresh or frozen sliced peaches instead of canned, add 2 tablespoons honey to the marinade. Grilled pitted fresh peach or nectarine halves are great alongside. Serve with potatoes and a crisp green salad. Any leftover sliced chicken is great on a sandwich with a little lettuce, honey mustard, and peach jam.

Posole is a hearty soup from the Jalisco region of Mexico that is traditionally made with pork and hominy. Hominy is dried corn kernels from which the hulls and germs have been removed. (In its ground form hominy is called grits.) Dried hominy takes several hours to cook, so I have opted for the canned version in the interest of time. I have also developed a lighter version with shredded chicken and tomatillo salsa (hence green posole). This dish is ridiculously easy to make and quite satisfying with all the additional garnishes. Serve with Southwestern Sweet Potato Saute.

Total cost: $9.96