Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Simple roasted chicken

Hello!

So the grocery story near our apartment had a "Dollar day" extravaganza. Whole chickens were on for 1 dollar a pound! WOOT WOOT! I have been very busy in the past few weeks and I really don't have much experience with roasting chickens, but this recipe was uber simple and the chicken turned out absolutely delicious! If you are a newbie cook like me, this is a great first dish to try.


What you will need:

1 whole chicken (~ 3 lb)
4 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
3 medium yellow onions, peeled and cut in half
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp dried thyme
4 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
Sprinkled sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

  1. Preheat your oven to 500°.
  2. Rinse the chicken thoroughly with cold water and remove any giblets from the cavity. Dry well. Clean and sterilize your sink.
  3. Toss the carrots, celery and onions into the bottom of a roasting pan large enough to comfortably hold the chicken. Toss with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
  4. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables and sprinkle with some more olive oil, as well as the lemon juice.
  5. Season the chicken evenly with salt, pepper and thyme and place in the preheated oven.
  6. Immediately turn the oven temperature down to 350° and roast that bird for about 1.5 hrs, or until an internal thermometer registers 165° when jabbed into the deepest part of the leg.
  7. When it's done, pull the pan from the oven and let the chicken rest for a few minutes. Serve warm with the veggies.
  8. Save the chicken carcass!! Place the reserved carcass in a large pot and cover with cold water. Add some carrots, celery and onion and bring to a simmer, removing any debris that floats to the top. Leave it at a gentle simmer for an hour and then strain it into a clean container. Refrigerate.
Enjoy!
Annie

Ps - for the very observant people out there, you may have noticed that my chicken was roasted with the wrong side up. I only realized this when I went to cut the breast out, and was at first quite confused because I could not find it...how embarrasing. Can you tell I am new at this?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Annie! It looks great - bum or breast up, I am sure it tasted delicious!