Jeremy Scheck's Secret To Simple And Delicious Roast Chicken - Exclusive

Jeremy Scheck is an internet sensation whose debut cookbook "ScheckEats—Cooking Smarter" is all about making delicious meals that are easy and accessible — like roast chicken. In addition to being an excellent weeknight meal, preparing a whole bird is an excellent way to be economical in the kitchen as you can repurpose the leftovers in soups and sandwiches.

We recently spoke with Scheck in an exclusive interview for Tasting Table, during which he shared his favorite tips for making roast chicken that is straightforward and tastes phenomenal. While "ScheckEats—Cooking Smarter" has an entire section about the art of chicken, Scheck's primary guidance is to break the cooking process down into steps. 

"One secret is to cook the chicken on high heat, salted, with nothing on it for the first 30 minutes. Then, take it out of the oven, season it, and add a dry rub," he shares. The dry rub is where you have an opportunity to customize the flavor profile of your roast chicken to best suit your taste preferences.  

While many think solely about savory flavors when it comes to preparing meat, Scheck wants you to consider amping up the sweetness. You can accomplish this by adding maple syrup or brown sugar to your marinade or dry rub. According to Schneck, those sweet additions help to "[bring] out the savoriness and [balance] everything really well."

One caution Scheck notes is that both maple sugar and brown sugar burn easily, so maintaining temperature regulation while the chicken is cooking is extremely important. To prevent burning, Scheck recommends initially setting your oven at high heat until the chicken is halfway cooked and the skin has time to develop a nice texture. "Then you can lower the heat and add everything else to season it," he notes. As he explained, this is a "foolproof way to avoid burning while also getting all the flavors."

For more cooking tips for all things chicken, check out "ScheckEats—Cooking Smarter," which is now available for purchase here. To learn more about Jeremy Scheck and ScheckEats, visit Instagram and TikTok.