Today, I’m excited to share with you one of the most incredible ways to cook a whole chicken—Salted Whole Chicken! In Chinese, we call it Yan Ju Ji (鹽焗雞). This dish results in a chicken that’s unbelievably tender, juicy, and falls right off the bone! Let’s dive in and take a closer look!
Salted Whole Chicken Recipe
Prep time: 15 minutes
Rest time: Overnight
Cook time: 2 hours and 15 minutes
Ingredients
1 whole chicken (3 pounds)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sesame oil
4 pounds coarse sea salt
3 pods star anise
1 cinnamon
2 tablespoons Sichuan peppercorns
Instructions
- After fully cleaning the chicken, pat it dry with paper towels.
- Season the chicken with salt. Cover it up with plastic wrap. Marinate in the fridge overnight.
- The next day, pat the chicken dry with paper towels again.
- Pour the sesame oil on the chicken and rub it all over.
- Wrap the chicken in parchment paper. Then, tie it up with cooking twines. Set aside.
- In a large wok, add in the coarse sea salt, star anise, cinnamon, and Sichuan peppercorns. Over low heat, stir-fry until the salt is at 400 degrees F (204° C), 15 minutes.
- In a clay pot, transfer ¼ of the salt, place the chicken inside, and transfer the rest of the salt.
- Place the clay pot on a stove over low heat, cook until the internal temperature of the chicken is 165° F, about 2 hours. (Add another 30 minutes for every additional pound.)
- Remove the salt. (The salt on the top, where it still looks clean, can be saved and reused.) Carefully take out the chicken. Serve!
