Truth be told, I’m not much for chicken. (Unless it is a vehicle for some delicious sauce. Then you can usually talk me into it. But I digress.) For whatever reason, I just never feel like eating a chicken breast and I’m not keen on wings or thighs as they have bones and tendons in them, making them a little complicated to eat. Lately, though, I’ve been seeing a lot of “Buy a whole chicken! Roast it and use the parts for days! Economical! Delicious!” press. I want to be economical and eat delicious things. Part of me also feels like it is about time to get over my whole “I don’t eat things with bones in it” stubbornness. So I bought a chicken – a local chicken and they were right! It was economical! And delicious! Turns out, if you smell something cooking for over an hour (I roasted it), when you finally get to eat it, it’s pretty rewarding. Roasting chickens might make a convert of me yet.
There are more tips and tricks to roasting chickens than you can shake a stick at out there. I read a bunch, watched several internet videos on trussing & prepping the chicken, and then turned to Ms. Jones who offered a simple recipe, easy preparation, and the all important, “There’s no need to truss the bird.” SOLD! Ms. Jones is fast on her way to being my new favorite.
This really was good. I really liked the lemon & thyme and black pepper combination with the chicken – nothing over powering, but light and crisp. I then butchered (hacked?) the bird into pieces for additional meals for the coming week.
I adjusted her recipe a bit – subbing in onion for shallot & scallions. I’m certain that would have been even more delicious, but I didn’t have any. Onion did fine.
Mix everything together and give it a quick going over with a knife so everything is good and combined.
Rinse the chicken and pat it dry with paper towels. Then, loosen the skin from the breast and thighs and spread the mixture under the skin with your fingers. I sort of mashed it in there & then redistributed it through the skin. Let’s just say that this was not my most refined moment in the kitchen. I’m still learning.
Rub a little salt, pepper and olive oil on top of the skin all over the bird. I then let it marinade for ~ 30 mins while the oven heated up and I did some necessary cleaning up.
Preheat the oven to 375oF. Place the chicken breast side down in a small roasting pan (or large, oven safe skillet if you don’t have one) and put in the oven for 45mins. Turn the chicken over and roast for another 30-45 mins until the juices run clear when the bird is pierced (165oF deep in the thigh). Let rest for 5-10 mins before carving.
I served this with some oven roasted potatoes (and sweet potatoes) popped in when I turned over the chicken, and pan roasted brussel sprouts with a balsamic glaze. Delicious!
I’m glad the chicken was a success! Yay for local food. (And pan roasted brussel sprouts!)