Ginger Lemongrass Roast Chicken with Fish Sauce Glaze

A roast chicken is already a perfect meal. This one has opinions.

The compound butter goes under the skin, directly on the meat, where it bastes the bird from the inside as it cooks. Softened butter with grated ginger, finely minced lemongrass, scallion greens, lime zest, and a little sesame oil. It keeps the breast meat juicy through the full cook, perfumes the skin from underneath, and drips into the pan to become something you will want to spoon over everything on the plate.

To get it under the skin, use your finger. Start at the cavity opening near the breast and work your hand between the skin and meat, separating them gently without tearing. Work toward the legs as well. Push the butter in and smooth it out from the outside with your hand so it distributes evenly. Then salt and pepper the outside of the bird generously.

Trussing keeps everything where it belongs.

Tuck the wings over and under themselves so they hug up against the breast. Cut a length of butcher's twine about four times the length of the bird. Find the midpoint of the twine and pull it tight at the cavity opening between the neck and the breast. Bring both ends down around the breast toward the other cavity, cross them over and pull tight so the breasts plump up. Run the string under the legs on both sides, pull it around so the drumsticks come together, loop around the ends, and tie firmly so the drumsticks cross and hold. If this is your first time, look it up on video. The description of trussing is always more complicated than the act.

Rotisserie or oven, your call.

On the grill rotisserie, bring the internal temperature of the grill to 325 to 350°F with the lid closed before the bird goes on. Keep the heat indirect — on a four-burner grill, that means the two middle burners off and the two outer burners on medium low. No open flame directly under the spinning chicken or you'll have flare-ups. For the last twenty minutes, turn the burners to high and apply the glaze. Total cook time is one hour to one hour fifteen depending on bird size.

In the oven, start at 425°F for fifteen minutes to get color on the skin, then drop to 350°F for another 45 to 60 minutes. Apply the glaze in the last fifteen minutes. Use a roasting rack so the bird sits above the pan and the juices drip down rather than pooling underneath and braising the bottom.

For both methods: pull the chicken when the thickest part of the thigh hits 160°F. Rest ten to fifteen minutes. The carry-over will take it past 165°F. Carve and serve.

The glaze is what makes this.

Fish sauce, brown sugar, fresh ginger, sesame oil, lime juice. It lacquers the skin in the last stretch of cooking and caramelizes into something sticky, savory, and a little funky. Honey works in place of brown sugar if that's what you have, but you need the sugar to get the lacquer. Brush it on generously and don't rush that final high-heat push.

I served this with grilled zucchini brushed with the same glaze, steamed coconut jasmine rice, and scallion oil drizzled over everything at the table. The scallion oil recipe lives separately on the site. It belongs here.