Ingredients Chicken Uncle Boon's Thai Roast Chicken 5.0 (5,910) 1 Review At Uncle Boon’s in Manhattan, chef Matt Danzer cooks chickens in a giant rotisserie oven, but the birds are equally delicious roasted on a rack in a home oven. Here’s what makes them so good: They’re brined, then rubbed with a combination of coconut cream and makrut lime before roasting, yielding golden, crackly skin. Slideshow: Roast Chicken Recipes By Matt Danzer Matt Danzer Restaurant: Uncle Boons (Read a review) Location: New York City Why He's Amazing: Because he and his co-chef, Ann Redding, are alumni of Per Se channeling their cooking chops into scrumptious Thai pub food. Culinary School: The Culinary Institute of America (Hyde Park, NY) background: Per Se, Country (/sites/default/files/ew York City); the French Laundry (Yountville, CA) Quintessential Dish: Yum kai hua pli (spicy roasted chicken and banana blossom salad) East Meets West: Danzer was born and raised on the North Fork of Long Island, New York. Redding was born in Udon, Thailand, and grew up there, in the Philippines and in the US. What Led Them to Open Uncle Boons: For five years, the husband-and-wife team ran a seasonal store and café on Shelter Island (between the north and south forks of Long Island). They traveled to Thailand during the winters, staying with Redding's family, and Danzer fell in love with the food: "It was like, 'Why aren't we eating this food all the time?'" The Name: Redding has an uncle named Boon who would take her and Danzer on day-long bar-food-and-beer excursions in Thailand. "My family just goes nuts there," she says. "We drive to lunch and leave lunch to go [for a] second lunch, and have a snack on the way to second lunch." The Dining Room's Vibe: Bangkok flea market. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on January 20, 2022 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: © Con Poulos Active Time: 40 mins Total Time: 4 hrs 30 mins Yield: 2 to 4 Ingredients 1 tablespoon coriander seeds 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns 2 1/2 quarts water 1/3 cup granulated coconut palm sugar or brown sugar, like Sugar in the Raw 1/4 cup fish sauce 6 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed 10 makrut lime leaves (see Note) 1/4 cup kosher salt, plus more for seasoning One 3-pound chicken 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut cream (see Note) Freshly ground black pepper Directions In a large saucepan, toast the coriander seeds and black peppercorns over moderate heat, shaking the pan, until they are fragrant, about 1 minute. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the spices cool slightly. Add the water, palm sugar, fish sauce, garlic, 8 of the makrut lime leaves and the 1/4 cup of salt to the saucepan and bring just to a simmer. Stir to dissolve the sugar and salt. Remove the pan from the heat and let the brine cool completely. Add the chicken to the brine, cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Set a wire rack on a large baking sheet. Remove the chicken from the brine and pat it dry with paper towels. Put the chicken on the rack and refrigerate it, uncovered, for 2 hours to dry out the skin. Preheat the oven to 400°. In a food processor, pulse the coconut cream with the remaining 2 makrut lime leaves until the mixture has green flakes. Rub the chicken all over with the coconut cream and let stand at room temperature for 45 minutes. Season the chicken lightly with salt and pepper and roast for about 1 hour, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the inner thigh registers 165°. Transfer the chicken to a board and let rest for 10 minutes, then carve the chicken and serve. Notes Makrut lime leaves are widely used in Thai cooking because they're wonderfully aromatic. They are available at Asian markets and also on Amazon.com. Coconut cream is the thick, rich cream that rises to the surface of unsweetened coconut milk. Look for it at specialty food shops. Suggested Pairing This roasted chicken needs a wine that can match the richness of the coconut cream and the brightness of the makrut lime leaves, like full-bodied, off-dry Riesling. Rate it Print