Julia and Jacques’s Dueling Chickens

Julia and I never could agree on the proper way to roast a chicken. Julia liked to give hers a generous rubdown with butter before putting it in the oven. She called this step a “butter massage.” She also found no need to turn a chicken in the oven and roasted birds weighing less than 3½ pounds breast side up for the entire time. Julia liked to roast her chickens on a V-shaped rack in a shallow roasting pan about two inches deep, contending (rightly) that this method let the heat circulate around the bird for even browning.

I, on the other hand, think it’s important to start the chicken on one side, flip it to the other side, then turn it on its back for a stint, during which I baste it frequently with pan juices. The meat around the juncture of the thigh and drumstick needs the most cooking, and with the bird on its side, that joint is in direct contact with the heat and the skin becomes golden and crisp. But you must cook it in a heavy-bottomed roasting pan that allows for good heat diffusion.

Julia and I agreed that whichever approach we took, a chicken should be roasted at a high temperature (425°F). And we were totally in sync in believing that one of the greatest pleasures in life is a perfectly roasted chicken served with a deglazing sauce made from the brown bits left in the roasting pan. I will finish by saying that both techniques yield an excellent result.

2004

Receives France’s highest order, the Légion d’Honneur, adding to his existing accolades of Chevalier de l’Ordre du Mérite Agricole and Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

2016

Establishes the Jacques Pépin Foundation to provide free culinary training to people with barriers to employment such as homelessness or previous incarceration.

2023

Continues to write and film online cooking tutorials while also teaching at Boston University and the Institute of Culinary Education, as well as serving as executive culinary director of Oceania Cruises.