Slow-roasting a chicken is one endeavor for which the home cook has a natural advantage over most restaurants. The long time required, and the fact that the meat should not be reheated, make the bird generally unsuitable for restaurant individual orders.

This roast chicken, with four unusual features, has become standard in our household.

First, red Port wine is infused into the skin which roasts to a mahogany color, and becomes drained of fat.

Then bits of carrot, onion, and celery are placed in the cavity. These contribute flavor to the pan juices, and also aid accurate detection as to when the bird is done.

Third, toward the end of roasting, moisture is maintained in the pan juices to keep breast meat moist while the skin is browning.

Finally, for a self-thickened sauce, pan juices and diced red pepper are stirred into thickened yogurt cream, with mayonnaise if desired.

If potatoes are roasted with the chicken, they may also be infused with Port wine for taste and appearance.

A rule of thumb says that for the full, wonderful effect of roast chicken, it should be served within half an hour. However, I think that this bird, roasted gently in a somewhat moist environment, can hold for an hour or so. Dark meat is fine next day, but the breast meat, as with any roast chicken, will be somewhat dry.

Serves 3-4

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Rinse chicken in cold water and pat dry on all sides. Place in roasting dish.

Place small pieces of onion, carrots, celery and optional red pepper in the cavity. These should cover the bottom of the cavity loosely. They do not stuff the cavity.

Pour two thirds of the vinegar-rum mixture over the bird. Baste 2 or 3 times and place chicken in oven.

While chicken is roasting, baste from time to time, first with the rum mixture in the pan, then with the remainder of the mixture in the bowl, then with pan juices.

To detect progress and end point

Check the cavity as roasting progresses. It will be dry for perhaps 30 minutes, when red juices will start to come down. This will continue throughout most of the roasting. Spoon the red juices into the pan, every 10-15 minutes or so, not letting them accumulate in the cavity.

Eventually, in 1 or 1 1/2 hour, red juices will increase in volume, then cease, and yellow juices come down with no trace of rose. The chicken is now essentially done, although it may be cooked a while longer without loss of succulence.

The skin should be very dark, and the leg joint should move easily in the socket. A roasting thermometer will read perhaps 180 degrees F. In the cavity the vegetables will be only slightly cooked.

Let the chicken sit 15 minutes for juices to sink back into the bird.

Moisture in pan juices

The pan juices will become moist. Let this happen. (In fact if dry, some moisture should be added during cooking. This will insure that white meat is moist.)

When chicken is done, de-oil the pan juices. Stir some pan juices into the thick yogurt cream to desired consistency. (Retain the rest of the juices for stock.) Add mayonnaise to the yogurt if desired. Stir in diced red pepper. Serve sauce in a bowl for guests to help themselves.