# Easy Roast Chicken please



## jennifer75 (Nov 2, 2009)

I have never roasted a chicken, and with cooler weather *LOL *on the horizon, I'd like to start.  However, I've got no clue as to what I should rub/saturate/sprinkle it with.  

Help?


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## ChefJune (Nov 2, 2009)

*Perfect Roast Chicken*

Jennifer, this recipe is easy to follow, and everyone who's made it says that about it. Everyone who's eaten it also really love it, and keep coming back for more.  It's from my book, but that's okay, because I hold the copyright.

*Perfect Roast Chicken*
A properly roasted chicken is so easy to prepare, and always SO delicious ­ brown, crispy skin and juicy, succulent meat.  And it makes the house smell SO good!  
4 to 6 servings, depending upon what you serve with it
1 free-range roasting chicken (5 to 6 pounds)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
2 whole heads plump fresh garlic, unpeeled, cut in half horizontally
several sprigs of fresh rosemary
several sprigs of fresh thyme
several sprigs of fresh marjoram
several sprigs of fresh lavender greens (if you can find a plant)
1 cup cold water or white wine (to baste the chicken)
 
1.         Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Start by rinsing the chicken inside and out with cold running water.  Drain it well and dry inside and out with paper towels.  Make a mixture of about 
2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper and 1 tablespoon of coarse sea salt in a small bowl.  Place the bowl alongside a shallow 9 x 14-inch roasting pan.  Put the olive oil in the pan and distribute evenly.  You will also need a 3-foot length of kitchen string.
 
2.         Put the chicken into the pan and turn to coat well with the olive oil.
Season it generously, inside and out with salt and pepper.  Put about half of the herbs inside the cavity.  Truss with string.
3.         Place the chicken on its side in the pan.  Put the halved garlic heads (cut side up) and the remainder of the herbs into the pan alongside the chicken.  Place the pan on a rack in the center of the oven and roast, uncovered, for 20 minutes.  Baste the chicken with the water and roast for another 25 minutes.  Baste again ­ this time with the juices in the pan— turn the chicken to the other side, and repeat the process.  This will take a total of 90 minutes roasting time.  By this time the skin should be a deep golden color.  Test to see if the juices run clear when you pierce a thigh with the point of a knife.
 
4.         Remove the pan from the oven and transfer the chicken to a platter on which you have placed an overturned salad plate.  Place the chicken at an angle against the edge of the plate with its tail in the air.  (This retains moisture because the juices flow down through the breast meat.)  Cover the chicken loosely with foil. Let it rest for at least 10 minutes or up to 30 minutes.  The chicken will continue to cook as it rests.  Reserve the roasted garlic to serve with the chicken.
 
5.         To prepare a sauce, remove the herbs from the pan and skim as much fat as possible from the pan juices.  Place the roasting pan over medium heat and scrape up any brown bits that cling to the bottom.  Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, scraping and stirring until the liquid is almost caramelized.  Do not let it burn.  Spoon off and discard any excess fat.  Add several tablespoons cold water to deglaze (hot water would cloud the sauce), and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes.
 
6.         While the sauce is cooking, carve the chicken and arrange it on a warmed serving platter along with the garlic.
 
7.         Strain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve and pour into a sauceboat.
Serve immediately with the chicken and the halved heads of garlic.


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## jennifer75 (Nov 2, 2009)

Oh thank you!


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## Dillbert (Nov 2, 2009)

simple roast chicken:

open, remove giblet pack, rinse, pat dry

remove pop-up thermometer and discard.

rub with olive oil
quarter an onion & stuff in cavity
douse with kosher salt & fresh coarse ground black pepper

roast on a rack uncovered at 375'F - 90-120 minutes depending on size - with a thermometer in thickest parts, roast to 160'F or so

remove, cover, let rest 15 minutes.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Nov 2, 2009)

As ChefJune and Dilbert have pointed out, the roasting part is easy.  What you season it is entirely up to you and your tastes.  The following herbs and spices work very well with roast chicken: Sage, Rosemary, Thyme, Garlic; Onion, Salt, Pepper, Red Pepper, Oregano, Sweet Basil, Marjoram, Paprika, Cumin, Coriander.  This of course, is not all inclusive, but will give you an idea of how versatile chicken is.

Two other great options with roast chicken are to clean the chicken inside and out, pat dry with paper towels, and truss the legs and wings against the body.  Rub with melted butter, and season with salt and pepper.  Shove sprigs of your favorite aromatic herbs under the skin, and quartered onion and garlic in the body cavity.  Roast in a shallow pan at 425' F. until your meat thermometer reads 155 to 160' F.  Remove and let rest for 15 minutes.

Clean, and dry whole roasting chicken.  Lay strips of raw bacon lengthwise on the body until the whole bird is covered.  Place cut potatoes, onion, and mushrooms in the bottom of your roasting pan along with 1/4 cup water.  Place the chicken onto balls of aluminum foil to raise it above the veggies and roast at 375 until the meat thermometer reads 140'. Remove the bacon strips and boost the oven temp to 450'.  Continue roasting until the thermometer reads 155' .  Remove the birde from the oven and place onto a platter.  Let cool for fifteen minutes.  While its cooling, remove the veggies and mushrooms from teh roaster and use the juices to make a rich gravy.

Place 2 cups of water into a sauce pan along with 1 cup of rice. Season with 1 tsp chicken soup base.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to lowest setting, cover, and cook for 20 minutes more.  Remove from heat.  Chop one stalk celery, and 1/2 an onion and add to the rice.  Set aside.  Clean and dry the whole roaster and again pat dry.  Rub with butter or olive oil and season with salt.  Place  Stuff the body cavity with the rice mixture.  Place in  375' oven and roast until your meat thermometer reads 150'.  Coat the chicken with your favorite barbecue sauce, or fruit glaze and continue roasting until the thermometer reads 155'.  Remove from the oven and let rest for 15 minutes.  Remove the rice to a serving bowl.  Make a sauce from the roasting pan drippings mixed with a bit more barbecue sauce.  Use as a sauce for the rice.

Of course, with all of these, prepare your side dishes, such as salads, cooked veggies, etc. while the bird is in the oven.

Hope that helps.

Seeeeeya: Goodweed of the North


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## jennifer75 (Nov 3, 2009)

Dillbert said:


> simple roast chicken:
> 
> open, remove giblet pack, rinse, pat dry
> 
> ...



While June's recipe made my mouth water, this may be the _easy _I was looking for.  Thank you!!!


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## jennifer75 (Nov 3, 2009)

Goodweed of the North said:


> Two other great options with roast chicken are...
> 
> Of course, with all of these, prepare your side dishes, such as salads, cooked veggies, etc. while the bird is in the oven.
> 
> ...



I'm so hungry now, thanks.    I like the bacon idea.


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## letscook (Nov 3, 2009)

several ways

olive oil the outside - salt and pepper - add carots - onions- potatoes - garlic clove or 2 - lil rosemary.
*********
olive olive the outside - salt and pepper - in cavity add lemon cut in half and onion and garlic
***********
rub outside with a bque sauce and roast basting often with sauce
*************
oil the outside salt and pepper and make a stuffing for the cavity.
************
oil outside  season with taco seasoning and 1/2 way pour your favorite salsa on top


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## ChefJune (Nov 3, 2009)

jennifer75 said:


> While June's recipe made my mouth water, this may be the _easy _I was looking for. Thank you!!!


 
It may SOUND easier, Jennifer, but if this is your first time roasting a chicken, you are going to need more pointers and markers than that.  Plus, your flavors will be very one-dimensional. 

You _can_ do easy that doesn't taste like it..... I haven't taught cooking for 25 years for nothing.


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## Dillbert (Nov 3, 2009)

Jennifer

>>the _easy _I was looking for.

well, roast / baked / stewed chicken is not rocket science.  it gets "troublesome" when you are bound-to-the-letter on a recipe and suddenly you have to go out and buy <seasoning X>

the many suggestions on "additives" will vary the taste / flavor - change is good....  I doubt I've ever roasted two chickens exactly alike....

frankly roast chicken is my excuse to clean out any limpy vegetables in the fridge - cut / dice them up, toss them in the cavity or pan.  celery, garlic. parsley, leeks, carrots, heck I've even used left over sauerkraut as a "roasting bed"

there's a lot to be said for 'technique' - I mentioned 375'F - when I have the time I like to start the roasting at 325'F - takes longer but methinks makes for moister / juicier birds.  in the last few minutes I jack up the temp to 375-400'F to get a brown&crispy skin.


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## ChefJune (Nov 4, 2009)

> I doubt I've ever roasted two chickens exactly alike....


  
Agreed, Dillbert. I have, but not too often since I stopped "cooking for money."

One of my more popular roast chickens uses oranges (rather than lemons) both inside and the juice as a basting liquid.  The resulting "pan sauce" is incredible over angel hair pasta.


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## GrillingFool (Nov 4, 2009)

Don't forget that dry rubs are superb on roasted chicken too!

Lift that skin, and put your seasonings underneath too.....
especially if you don't eat the skin!


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## jennifer75 (Nov 4, 2009)

Dillbert said:


> when I have the time I like to start the roasting at 325'F - takes longer but methinks makes for moister / juicier birds.  in the last few minutes I jack up the temp to 375-400'F to get a brown&crispy skin.



I like this method, I love rotisserie chicken but I know I can't get that result from roasting in the oven...if I use this method, lower temp, how long does it take, and what temp should the meat be when I jack it up to a higher temp?


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## Claire (Nov 4, 2009)

Another easy, but somewhat exotic, roast chicken:

Stuff the cavity of the bird with one lemon, halved, and broken up (but not necesssarily peeled) cloves of garlic.  An entire head, believe it or not, it will mellow in the roasting.   If the bird is skinny, as some times free range ones can be (if anything most of the birds I buy are too fatty), then oil the exterior with olive oil.  Roast according to your basic instructions in almost any basic cookbook, that is to say about what June said, 375 for about an hour for an average sized bird.  If  you are a newby, I cannot recommend more the advantage of a good meat thermometer.  I learned to cook without one and don't know how I did it!  Anyway, your bird will come out redolent of the lemon and garlic, and it gives it a sort of mediterranean or Morrocan feel, so is wonderful with couscous (Near East makes many that only require the addition of boiling water or stock), taboule (ditto), and a simple salad or green vegetable.

When I  have fresh herbs in season, I add a branch of whatever calls to me from the garden (or in winter, in my kitchen pots), also in the cavity of the bird.

I say bird rather than chicken because I've done this with small turkeys down to Cornish game hens (the turkeys need two lemons, the game hens a half, and again, use timing/temps from any basic roast bird recipe).  

When you carve the bird, I toss away the lemon and any branches of herbs, but pinch the garlic out of its skin and let people "spread" it on bread if they so desire.


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## Dillbert (Nov 4, 2009)

>> rotisserie chicken

you can get close, but it's not an exact match.  without rotating the bird, the bottom does not get the 'radiant heat' effect for crisping - putting it on a rack is essential tho.

roasting at 325'F adds mebbe 25-30 minutes to a 4 lb-ish  bird.
it also depends on how the bird has been 'handled' / stored immediately prior to roasting.  I never freeze a whole chicken - perhaps I shop more often than others but I just haven't had the need or urge.  the other day I did one, brought it home "fresh" & left it on the counter while I put away the groceries and preheated the oven.  it finished early [g] - and sometimes if you get a batch right out of the store cold locker you'll still  find ice crystals in the cavity - so 'how cold was the bird when you started' plays a more significant role at lower temps.

another trick I use is:  when the bird is essentially done - I use 160'F right next to the rib cage (unstuffed) - I pull it out of the oven while the temp comes up to 400'F - that avoids the top oven element from getting things too toasty.  then put it back in the oven to crisp the skin - typically takes 10 minutes or so - I set the timer for 8 minutes and then watch it using the Mark I eyeball....

the citrus / herbs / etc all can add to taste and they're all good recipes/ideas - but as I mentioned earlier there is a bit of 'technique' to crispy roast chicken regardless of 'recipe'

I never use the pop-up things - I always use a probe thermometer to check temps 1/2 inch off and right down to the rib cage.


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## Jeff G. (Nov 9, 2009)

jennifer75 said:


> I have never roasted a chicken, and with cooler weather *LOL *on the horizon, I'd like to start.  However, I've got no clue as to what I should rub/saturate/sprinkle it with.
> 
> Help?


Butter, salt, pepper...  inside and out...  hard to beat...


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