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Perfect Roast Chicken


This recipe was inspired by the one and only Ina Garten. She is everything I wish to be. Her Roast Chicken recipe is called Engagement Chicken and I made it for Brad when we first got engaged and as our last dinner together as an engaged couple before our wedding. We now try to make this about twice a month because we can easily get two meals out of it and weekdays are about efficiency around here. Shockingly, this is one of my most requested dishes from family and friends and it’s never even had a home on the blog, until today. Roasting a whole chicken can seem so daunting but it is SO easy, actually the easiest, and it shows really well and is super impressive. It’s also very cheap and the whole thing can be made for under $20.00, which is great if you need to double or triple it for a crowd! I’m so excited for you all to be able to make this for yourselves. Happy Chicken Roasting!


Ingredients


1 Roasting Chicken

Salt and Pepper

Fresh Parsley

Fresh Sage

Fresh Rosemary

Fresh Thyme

1 Head of Garlic

2 Lemons

2 Onions

12 Brussels Sprouts (optional)

1 cup Dry White Wine

Olive Oil

¼ cup Butter (if making gravy)

2 tbsp. Flour (if making gravy)


Directions


First, let’s get everything prepped and ready.


Cut your onions up into manageable chunks (I cut them into sixths and then take apart the layers of onion). Add them to the bottom of a roasting pan. You can add any other vegetables you want to eat with dinner as well. I usually also add brussels sprouts and broccoli. Slice a lemon and add that into your roasting pan. Cut a head of garlic in half horizontally, leaving the bottom intact, and add the tops pieces of garlic to your roasting pan.


Finely chop your fresh herbs and add half to the roasting pan and reserve the other half for the bird. You can add as much or as little herbs as you want. Sometimes I go crazy and sometimes I barely put any. It’s totally up to you, but they MUST be fresh.


Add olive oil and salt to the roasting pan and give all the veggies and herbs a good mix.


Remove the giblets from your chicken and freeze for use in stock, or throw them away. Pat the outside of your chicken dry with a paper towel, and salt your bird well (both inside and outside). Cut the other lemon in half and add it to the cavity of the bird. Also add the bottom half of the head of garlic as well as a small bundle of fresh herbs. Add the rest of the herbs to the outside of the bird and spread them around nicely with your hands. I make sure the whole chicken is evenly covered.


Put your chicken on top of your veggies in your roasting dish and liberally coat your chicken with olive oil. This will give your skin the beautiful crispppp. Add your white wine to the bottom of the roasting dish.


Set your oven to 425℉ and roast your chicken for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and the thigh or the internal temperature has reached 165℉.


When it’s done, remove the chicken to a cutting board and cover it with tin foil and rest it for 10 minutes. This chicken will be very juicy, so I like to put the cutting board into a sheet pan so the juices don’t run on the counter. If you did it right, they will run.


If you’re making a gravy, take the veggies out of the pan using a slotted spoon, leaving behind the reserved liquid. Put the liquid into a cup or container, and then add the veggies back into the roasting pan.


In another pan, melt your butter. Once melted, quickly add your flour and cook for 1-2 minutes. When it’s nice and toasted, slowly begin to add your reserved pan liquid, whisking constantly until a nice roux has formed. Add as much or as little liquid you want, depending on the thickness of the gravy you want. Put it in a gravy boat!


Now, carve your chicken and place the carved pieces on top of your veggies for a beautiful one-pan presentation!


Coat your veggies and chicken with your stunning gravy and enjoy!


How to Carve a Roast Chicken


Okay so your chicken is done and she’s looking stunning. You’ve let it rest for 20-30 minutes allowing the juices to redistribute, and now you’re ready to carve.


I like to start by putting a cutting board in a sheet pan. If you’ve cooked it right, your chicken should be nice and juicy and you don’t want those juices spilling all over your counter. You want to keep them and use them for gravy.


The first thing you’re going to cut off is the chicken leg. Slice between the skin of the body and the skin of the leg. This should create a nice hollow gap, naturally, and you’ll be able to see the joint where the leg meets the chicken's body. Slicing through the joint, remove the chicken leg and thigh in one piece.


If you want to separate the chicken and the thigh, hold the drumstick up and slice down vertically right next to the bulging part of the drumstick. It should slice right through the joint.


Next, I like to remove the wings. Pull the wings away from the body of the chicken and just cut through this joint. This is definitely the easiest one to find.


Next, the breast. There’s a bone that runs down the middle of the breast (the breast bone) and you need to run your knife down both sides of it in order to separate the breast meat.


Make a deep cut down along the breast bone of the breast. Once you’ve cut the length of the body, cut out and down at an angle, underneath the breast meat, following the contour of the rib bones.


Once you've removed the breast meat, slice the breast meat 'with the grain' for perfect, intact slices.



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