Roast chicken

Photo from epicurious.com

Why have I not tried to roast a chicken before?!  I frequently buy rotisserie chicken from the store, but have just never thought to try to cook a bird myself.  I guess I was a little intimidated.

I recently saw a post from Denise at Wholesome Mommy about how to roast a chicken...I decided to give it a try.  It was so easy and really delicious!  And very economical, especially considering I can use the leftover chicken for a casserole or chicken salad.

I added some new potatoes, along with the carrots and onions around the chicken.

Next time I will get some butcher's twine to "truss" the bird, tying the drumsticks up.  This helps the bird cook more evenly and keeps the breasts stay moist.   In the future, I want to try different herbs, and maybe some lemon too.

Other notes:  The cooking time and temperature were perfect for my roast chicken.  When trimming the fat, I accidentally cut some of the skin off of the breast.  So that area was a little dry.  Next time I will be more careful to leave all the skin intact so that the juices stay locked in.

What an easy meal!  I'm sure I'm the last one on the block to roast a chicken, but I highly recommend it if you haven't tried it.  I have been in the boneless/skinless rut for about 20 years now, so this was a wonderful change!

Here is the recipe from Wholesome Mommy.  She has lots of other great recipes and ideas for organic foods and introducing a "simpler" lifestyle a little at a time.

1 whole chicken
1 head of garlic cut crosswise
2 Tbsp melted butter
1 or 2 large onions, quartered
4 to 6 carrots, cut into 2 inch chunks
Olive Oil
Coarse (kosher) salt & fresh ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers as needed and pat dry. Salt and pepper the inside cavity of the chicken. Put all the garlic inside the chicken and tie its legs together with kitchen string.

Place the onions and carrots in a roasting pan or Dutch oven. Drizzle vegetables with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Toss the vegetables to coat.

Place the chicken on top of the vegetables tucking its wing tips under the body. Baste the chicken with the butter.  Salt and pepper the outside of the chicken.

Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you check between the leg and thigh.