Roast Chicken

There’s nothing simpler than roast chicken.

And there are few things more delicious.

You can use this basic recipe and change it up however you like: different herbs, different citrus fruits, different seasonings. You can even have a different attitude and see how that affects the flavor of the meat!

Just kidding. But you can change what you’re wearing each time. That’s always a fun variation.

 

The Cast of Characters: A whole chicken, butter, lemons, rosemary, and salt and pepper.

And the will to make roast chicken.

 

 

 

Throw the buttah into a bowl. Make sure it’s nice and soft.

 

 

 

Zest up at least two of the lemons…

 

 

 

And throw the zest into the bowl with the butter.

My question of the day: Where would the world be without lemon zest? I can’t imagine it. I don’t want to imagine it. So I won’t imagine it.

I’m so glad we had this talk.

 

 

 

Strip off a bunch of rosemary leaves…

 

 

 

And chop them really finely.

Finer than this. I was in a hurry to eat.

Don’t be like me.

 

 

 

Throw the rosemary into the bowl, too.

 

 

 

Add some salt and pepper (I didn’t do this. Don’t be like me.)

 

 

 

Line a rimmed baking sheet with heavy aluminum foil and plop the chicken right in the middle. You can truss it if you want. But that’s not how we do things around here. You can also do pieces, which I do with great frequency, which is another way of saying “I do that a lot.”

In other news: Whole chickens crack me up. I don’t know why.

And I don’t want to know why.

 

 

 

Throw the butter mixture on the top…

 

 

 

And smear it all over the bird.

 

 

 

Be sure to get in all the crevices.

Tee hee! That tickles.

 

 

 

Now, cut the lemons in half…

 

 

 

Squeeze the juice of one lemon over the top…

 

 

 

Then stuff as many lemon halves as you can into the…cavity.

I’m so immature.

 

 

 

Next, wedge two or three of the rosemary sprigs in there too.

I’d just like to take this opportunity to say that lemon and rosemary are so pretty together.

 

 

 

Then give the chicken one final schmear…

And roast it in the oven for about an hour and fifteen minutes to an hour-and-a-half. Ish. I do 400 degrees on convection, so if you’re using a standard oven you could do 425 or so. Basically, you want it cooked through, skin a deep golden brown, juices sizzling in the bottom of the pan…but still moist in the middle.

After you take it out of the oven, cover it loosely with foil and let it sit for 10 minutes or so.

And by all means do not take photos of the perfectly roasted chicken coming out of the oven. That would be way too helpful and instructive.

 

 

 

Next, remove the legs, thighs, and breast. And wings.

And again, by all means, when you do this do not take photos of the process.

I need some ginkgo biloba.

 

 

 

And yum! Roast chicken! Nothing like it in the world.

 

 

 

Serve it on a plate with a wedge salad and a lemon half.

Back to carving, you probably don’t want to learn how to perfectly carve a chicken from me. I do it differently every time. Sometimes I just hack off pieces of chicken until there’s nothing left but the carcass. Sometimes I carve it meticulously and surprise myself by doing a somewhat decent job.

 

 

 

Sometimes I do this. (This is a different roast turkey recipe I made the same day. Will post soon.)

And sometimes I just rip off the leg and eat it in the kitchen before dinner is served.

(Again, see “Don’t be like me” notes above.)

Enjoy, guys! Roast chicken is easy and yummy.

Here’s the recipe:

 


Recipe: Roast Chicken

Prep Time: 10 Minutes
 | 
Cook Time: 1 Hour15 Minutes
 | 
Difficulty: Easy
 | 
Servings: 4

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Ingredients
1 whole Chicken, Rinsed And Patted Dry3/4 cups Butter, Softened3 whole Lemons4 sprigs Rosemary Salt And Pepper, to taste Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees (convection bake. If you're using a standard oven, you can do 425.)

Zest two of the lemons. Strip the leaves off of one of the rosemary sprigs and chop it up finely.

In a bowl, combine softened butter, lemon zest, rosemary, and salt and pepper to taste.

Line a baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil and lay the patted-dry chicken on the foil, breast side up.

Use your fingers to smear the butter mixture all over the chicken, under the skin, and inside the cavity. Cut the lemons in half and squeeze the juice of one lemon all over the chicken. Place the six lemon halves (if they'll fit!) and the three remaining rosemary leaves into the cavity of the bird.

Place the chicken into the oven and roast it for 1 hour, 15 minutes or until done. Skin should be deep golden brown and juices should be sizzling.

Carve/cut up to your heart's content and dig in!

Posted by Ree on August 13 2012