Steve Wertz > wrote:

> On Sun, 17 Sep 2006 23:47:33 +0200, Victor Sack wrote:
>
> > Put the chicken, breast down, in the roasting dish and roast
> > in the oven for about 15 minutes, then turn it over, pour in a cup of
> > salted water, and roast for 15 minutes more, basting the chicken often
> > with the roasting juices.
>
> Does the salt water go int he chicken, or the pan? I assume the
> chicken since the salt won't do much except precipitate in the
> pan.

It is poured over the chicken and is then, once mixed with the juices,
used for frequent basting (and, as long as there is enough liquid left -
relative to the dissolved salt it contains - the salt doesn't
precipitate.) I would say that here the salt is as useful (or not) as
any other flavour component of the basting liquid. There are different
opinions as to whether basting adds anything useful at all and one could
even plausibly argue that the only thing it does is wash off the
seasoning.

Victor