I know what you're thinking. Grumpy's really going out on a limb here because he doesn't know squat about home cooking.

Normally, you'd be right. Not in this case. I can roast a mean chicken, thanks to spacemai bringing Zuni's recipe to my attention.

I was satisfied thinking that this was the greatest roast chicken recipe in the world until @glutenfreegirl started raving about (click the link within the link to see a photo) Thomas Keller's recipe on Twitter. (Thanks to @CarolBlymire for recipe's link.)

While the techniques vary, the recipes share two things in common that I believe are the keys to making great roast chicken:

1) Small birds. Keller calls for a 2-3 lb. chicken. Judy Rogers of Zuni uses a 2 3/4 to 3 1/2 bird. As Rogers points out, small birds roast quickly and evenly, and have a high skin-to-meat ratio. It's hard to find roasters that small. Whole Foods' butchers have all but laughed me out of the store when I asked. In San Francisco, Golden Gate Meats in the Ferry Builing usually has them but you'll have to get them to weigh a few to find on the right size. Depending on who's waiting on you, they may or may not get surly. Spacemai reports that Cal-Mart and TJ's have birds of the proper size. Be demanding and fussy. Get the right size bird and don't let the butcher talk you into getting a half chicken, which happens every time I ask at Whole Foods.

2) Dry the bird thoroughly. Both chefs stress that a wet bird will be a steamed bird. Steaming = no crisp skin = bad. I was a bit worried about this as, using the Zuni recipe, the chicken is seasoned long before it goes into the oven. I was concerned that giving the bird a last toweling down before putting it into the oven would knock off too much salt and pepper. Not to worry. If you pat the skin using paper towels, the moisture will come off but the seasoning will stay in place. A dry bird will be a bird that yields lots of crisp, brown skin.

Which recipe is better? I've yet to try the Keller recipe. It certainly has the advantage of being more spur of the moment — Zuni's preparation requires at least 24 hours of lead time to let the seasoned bird rest before cooking.

But, were I a betting man, I'd bet on Zuni. Keller's preparation call for trussing the bird, which sacrifices a few precious square inches of savory, brittle skin where the legs are bound against the body. I'll let you know after I've tried Keller's recipe.

Has anyone tried making both preparations? Any other nominees for best roast chicken recipe? Let us know in the comments section!