Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Roast Chicken, my husband's favorite.

 If asked about his favorite meal, my husband would be more than happy to entertain with an ode to roast chicken.  We've celebrated anniversaries and holidays with roast chicken, as well we've enjoyed this simple dish in the middle of the week for no reason at all. I've had so many requests for this recipe over the years, and I'm happy to share "our" roast chicken with you, my dear reader.

There are unlimited resources and recipes for roast chicken, both online and on the cookbook shelf.  Every family has its own method, and ingredients that make their recipe special, but there are a few details, such as temperature, time, and of course the chicken, that remain the same   This is our version.
Roast Chicken for my husband

Ingredients:
4-5 lb roasting chicken with any accessory organs and neck removed from the cavity
1/2 granny smith apple cut into large cubes
3 cloves garlic chopped
a few handfuls of Fresh parsley, curly leaf works better for this recipe
4 or 5 fresh sprigs of Rosemary
1 Acorn Squash, quartered and seeded
1 large yellow or vidalia onion, quartered (vidalia are sweeter than yellow)
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper
Butcher's twine

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425F.  If possible use a small roasting pan with a shallow rack in the bottom.  This will allow the steam to circulate without the meat getting soggy.

1. Rinse the chicken and pat dry.  Stand up ( I usually lean it against the side of the roasting pan) wing end down.  This will give you easy access to the inside of the chicken while keeping both hands free.
2. Add a generous amount of salt and pepper to the cavity of the chicken.
3. Fill the the chicken with layers of parsley, apples, and garlic until it just reaches the opening between the drumsticks.
4. Truss the chicken with twine.
5. Drizzle both sides of the chicken with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
6. Place the chicken breast side down in the roasting pan.  This allows the juices to run into the breast while it is cooking, keeping the lean meat nice and moist.
7. Place the squash and onion around the chicken in the roasting pan.  Drizzle everything with olive oil and add a bit more salt and pepper.
8. Fill the bottom of the roasting pan with water until it just reaches the rack.
9. Place the pan, chicken and all, into your oven and shut the door.
10. Cook for 1 hr
11. After 1 hr,  use tongs to flip the chicken in its pan, so that the breast is facing up.  Cook for 15-20 more minutes until the skin is lightly browned.  No need to baste!

We plate this with the squash and onion and add a bit of the juice from the bottom of the roasting pan.  I hope you enjoy this as much as we do. 


1 comment:

  1. Looks delicious! I love the additions of apple, parsley and squash.

    I've learned a lot this year about roasting chicken from Alice Waters. Same trick of flipping the chicken (though she has you do it every 20 mins). I now age my chicken as soon as I get it home--covering it in salt and pepper and letting it dry in the fridge for one to two days. Amazing the difference! One of my favorite weekly meals.

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