Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Roast Chicken


Submitted by Chelsea

Roasted Chicken (with potatoes and carrots)

I'm FINALLY getting around to post! This recipe has been a favorite of my family for a few years and I just made it for Chet and I last night. The original recipe is from Ina Garten from Barefoot Contessa.  It was my first time so I learned a few things I could have done differently that I'll explain later.  I prepared this the night before in the pan and put it covered in the fridge. I text Chet while I was at work the next day and he just had to put it in the oven. Really easy to prepare and easy to cook!  I didn't have a roasting pan or rack so I bought a pretty good quality one at Bed, Bath and Beyond. I used a 20% off coupon and it came to $12.81!. That's a steal for me considering the other ones were over $50!









You will need:
Roasting pan and rack
1 whole chicken (5-6 lbs roughly)
Kosher salt
Pepper
1 large bunch  FRESH thyme
1 lemon, halved
1 HEAD garlic, cut in half crosswise
1 purple onion
Baby Carrots (Ina doesn't add veggies but I prefer it)
Red potatoes 
Kitchen string (I use kite string- just something that won't start a fire)
Butter or Olive oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees
Remove chicken giblets, remove excess fat, and skin, clear the inside so you can see an opening at the neck area.  Pat the outside of the chicken dry and place on the rack with it facing up. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Now stuff the chicken with the  thyme, garlic and lemon.  Brush with butter or Olive oil- whichever you prefer. (I used Olive oil to make it a little bit healthier) Tie the legs together tight and make sure nothing is going to fall out of the cavity of the chicken. Salt and pepper the outside of the chicken. Tuck the wings into the sides of the chicken. Slice the onion and place rings on top and to the side of the chicken. Scatter the carrots and potatoes on top of the rack. (My rack had large spaces so majority of my veggies fell to the bottom of the pan- this is ok)  Roast chicken for 1.5 hours or until the juices in the leg and thigh run clear. Enjoy!

*What I wish I would have done differently*
Salt and peppered the inside and outside more. Especially the inside--it won't make it overly salt. I was worried it would but I think it ends of giving it more flavor. I used a white onion cause that's what we had at home- should've used a purple onion. Ina uses a Spanish onion.

I removed the majority of fat off of the chicken prior to cooking to make it healthier but I wish I would've left more to give the carrots and potatoes more fat/moisture to cook in. A lot of the veggies were dried out because the juices couldn't cover the pan because there was so little. The veggies directly under the chicken were really yummy! :)

My mom usually takes the skin off when she cooks hers and I did this time too but next time I'm going to  leave it on to see if that'll give it more flavor by trapping it in. The chicken was  REALLY juicy, I wish I would've roasted it a little bit longer to dry it out a little bit.

Okay! There's my first recipe post! I don't have an after picture but I'll post one of my chicken all ready to cook. Enjoy! 

Here's the book the original recipe came from: