I'm a fan of the whole chicken. Sure, sure, chicken pieces are sometimes easier, but I feel all domestic and old-fashioned when I buy a whole chicken. You get white meat, dark meat, juice, bones for stock, the whole nine yards. It's enough for a dinner party or for leftovers throughout the week. In the past, I've cooked them in a crock-pot, which is super easy. But I'm without a full-size crock-pot, so I decided to try my hand at roasting.
I have a cookbook called 150 Things to Make with Roast Chicken (and 50 Ways to Roast It), which I'd never actually used before. But I cracked it open, read the roasting instructions, and got to work. Here's what I did.
I started with a bird (organic, free range - but of course) that was just a bit over 3 pounds - the smallest one in the case. Apparently you end up with crisper skin if you rinse it, salt it, and let it sit out in the fridge for a bit. I just rinsed it, took out the bag of innards, and let it dry while the oven heated to 425. I rubbed some melted butter into the skin, which is supposed to help it brown. I also rubbed in salt and pepper, ground sage and thyme, and a bit of rosemary. And some Cavender's all-purpose Greek seasoning, because I felt a little crazy.
I don't have a roasting pan, let alone a rack, so I followed the instructions to start it out breast side down for 20 minutes. I put it in a disposable casserole dish, which is probably anathema but the best I could do. After 20 minutes, I flipped it breast side up for another 30-35 minutes. I'm also lacking a meat thermometer, so I checked a breast to make sure the juices weren't pink, then I let it rest for a bit to absorb juices.
I roasted a pan of potatoes and carrots, nothing fancy, and tore myself off a thigh and a bit of breast meat. I drizzled some of the drippings over the whole thing (I heart chicken fat) and dug in. The skin was moderately crispy and so delicious, and even without the drippings the meat would've been plenty moist. I felt like that guy in Amelie eating the chicken - YUM.
I'll definitely do this again - and I'm looking forward to the leftovers. It was so little work for such delicious results. The cookbook has all kinds of suggestions for different rubs and brines, and then ideas for getting creative with the leftovers, a lot of which look super tasty. Anyone have favorite ideas for leftover chicken, or roasting tips?
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
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1 comments:
Nummy. We had roast chicken last night, but we got the one from the deli case that was already cooked. But it was awesome because as we were perusing the selection, the guy from the deli walked up with 5 new chickens and said - I just pulled these out, you want a fresh one?
When I roast myself, I like to lift up the skin and rub seasoning between the skin and the meat - salt, pepper, garlic - I keep it pretty simple. Then I slather the whole bird with olive oil, which is vaguely repulsive and porny because I just use my hands to rub it all over.
You can also cut up a lemon and place a half into the cavity, and add your potatoes and veggies and cloves of peeled garlic directly to the dish to roast alongside.
I roast my chickens just in a 13x9 metal baking pan or a ceramic casserole dish - I don't have a roasting pan or rack either.
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