Sunday Night Roast Chicken
Over the last few months I’ve been making a roast chicken every other week for Sunday dinner. Roaster chickens are very affordable (around $5) and even with my family of five I’m able to get enough leftover chicken to use in another meal later in the week.
I started out making Ina Garten’s roast chicken, but I’ve kind of strayed away from that and changed it to what we like.
For my chicken, I use garlic, an onion, sage, and carrots and potatoes. Remove the chicken giblets, rinse the chicken and pat it dry, and set aside for a few minutes.
We liked the original version with the lemon, but to tell the truth it got a little old after the second time I made it. The lemon starts to taste a little weird with the vegetables.
I then halve some baby potatoes and dump some baby carrots into a roasting pan. Drizzle a little olive oil on top and sprinkle kosher salt and pepper. Then just use your hand to stir the whole thing around until everything’s coated.
Next I make a quick compound butter with one stick of softened butter and some chopped sage. I also add some chopped sage to the vegetables in the roasting pan. Set the butter aside.
Chop the onion and garlic heads in half, and stuff them and the remaining sage sprigs into the chicken’s cavity. Truss the legs over the opening to keep everything inside.
Next I loosen the skin over the chicken breast and stuff some of the compound butter inside (I use disposable gloves for this because the butter is a pain to wash off). You can rub the breast outside the skin to try to distribute the butter a little better.
Make sure the wings are tucked up under the bird, then coat the outside of the chicken with the rest of the butter and sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper. The original recipe said to use melted butter, but I like to use softened butter because it stays put and doesn’t just run all over the pan (it will once it hits the oven, but this way I can make sure everything’s at least got a little bit). This is when I insert the temperature probe, too. It looks like a frosted bird!
It doesn’t look that way after 90 minutes in the oven at 425°, however (or when the thermometer hits 165°, whichever comes first).
The vegetables are pretty amazing too, and I make them as a separate side for other dishes as well, just skip the whole chicken part 🙂
While the chicken rests (put some foil over top to keep it warm), I make a simple gravy using some of the chicken drippings, flour and chicken broth. Season with salt and pepper (and sometimes some garlic powder if it needs it).
I like to serve the whole thing with green beans and homemade rolls.
