Well, it's my week to cook, so tonight I am making a roast chicken. It is one of the easiest things in the world to make, but everyone things it is hard and so they are impressed when you make it!! Give it a try sometime - it doesn't take long (work wise) to prepare, but does take a while to cook.
Some hints before you start:
1. Buy a roasting chicken if you can, but a frying chicken is fine. A 3 1/2 to 4 pound chicken will serve four people. If you have more people than that, I would suggest cooking two chickens of the same size rather than one giant chicken (they sell 8 pounders, but I have never tried to cook one). Cooking time should remain the same.
2. I usually roast vegetables along with the chicken (in the same pan) so I will include instructions for that. Feel free to substitute other vegetables, or to leave them out entirely (it won't change the cooking time for the chicken). Put as many or as few vegetables in as you want - I never even measure them.
3. You can also put fresh herbs (tarragon or thyme or rosemary) inside the chicken cavity with the onions for extra flavor.
4. Sometimes we have trouble getting the thighs fully cooked (especially if I forget to let the chicken sit out before roasting) - if they don't look cooked when you carve the bird, just zap that part in the microwave for 30 seconds to a minute and it's fine!
Roasted Chicken with Vegetables
1 chicken (3 to 4 pounds)
2 T seasoned salt
1 T lemon pepper
1 small to medium onion, cut into quarters
Olive oil
Carrots, celery, onion, and potatoes to taste - cut into pieces (1 inch for carrots & celery, wedges for onion, and 1-2 inch hunks for the potatoes).
1. Remove packaging from chicken, and any giblets from the cavity. Rinse well, pat dry inside & out, and set out on counter for 30-40 minutes (this helps it to cook more evenly, and you won't die from it!!).
2. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Rub oil inside chicken cavity and all over outside. Tuck wings under to make a little platform for chicken (look in a general cookbook for instructions on this, or skip this step). Combine seasoning salt and lemon pepper in small bowl. Sprinkle chicken inside and out with seasoning mixture (don't put it all on or it will be too salty). Save the extra seasoning for the vegetables.
3. Stuff inside with quartered onions. I use poultry pins to close the cavity because this makes it easier when you turn the bird. Or, you can truss the bird if you want to (check out this site for details on how to truss the chicken). Place chicken, breast side down, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan.
4. Roast for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, and turn chicken so breast side is up. You may want to sprinkle a little more seasoning on it if it looks pale. Add all vegetables except onions (I toss veggies with olive oil and sprinkle some of the seasoning on them). Just stick them in the roasting pan and spread them around evenly (or semi-evenly). Add onions when there is 30 minutes of cooking time left (see times below) - again, toss with olive oil and a bit of seasoning and then just stick them on top of the other vegetables.
5. Roast until meat thermometer inserted between thigh and leg registers 180 degrees (about 35 more minutes for 3 pound chicken, 45 more minutes for 4 pound chicken).
6. Remove from oven - transfer chicken to platter or cutting board to "rest." Let it rest 10 minutes or so. Meanwhile put veggies in bowl or platter and cover to keep warm.
7. Carve chicken and enjoy (I have to admit that we are unscientific carvers, but if you want to know the right way to do it, go to this site). IMPORTANT: discard the onions that are inside the chicken - only eat the ones that you put in the roasting pan with the other vegetables.
Hope you enjoy this - I have made this many, many times and it is very moist and delicious! Let me know how it goes if you try it!
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