Nowadays, whenever I went to the supermarket, while I would usually have my fresh chickens cut into x number of pieces, I would usually leave one bird whole. This is so that I have more flexibility in deciding what new dish to try out, and I can cut it according to what is required by the recipe.
So this time around, I used the whole chicken to try out this Perfect Roast Chicken by Ina Garten. It was really good, and my kitchen was full of wonderful aromas while it was cooking in the oven. The breast meat did come out a little dry – more reason to keep making it until I get it right :-p.
I suspect I’ll be trying many more “Perfect” roast chicken recipes to come, in search for the One. Lol.
Perfect Roast Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 (2-1/4 to 2-3/4 kg) roasting chicken
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large bunch fresh thyme, plus 20 sprigs
- 1 lemon, quartered
- 1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise
- 2 tablespoons (1/8 of a block) butter, melted
- 1 large yellow onion, thickly sliced
- 4 carrots, cut into 2-inch chunks
- 500 grams chat potatoes, cut into wedges
- 500 grams sweet potatoes, cut into 2-inch chunks
- Olive oil
Directions
Preheat the oven to 220 degrees C.
Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry. Rub 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper on the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with all the lemon, all the garlic, and the bunch of thyme.
Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter. Gently lift the skin and brush butter underneath it. Sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken.
Place the onions, carrots, and potatoes in a roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top. (You wanna fill up the entire roasting pan with veggies. My first try didn’t have enough, and they burned before the chicken was done.)
Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 30 minutes. Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables.