I don’t know about anyone else, but for me Sunday dinners just seems right when we’re having a roast chicken. Some folks are a little intimidated about roasting a chicken or other things as well. How do you know when it’s done? How do you get it to not be dry? How do you season it to taste good? What should you serve it with? Should you have some kind of gravy and how do you make that. So many things to think about so I guess it could be daunting to make this classic.
Well not to worry; here is a fail proof method for roasting a perfect chicken and it’s super easy to do. You can always serve it with the classic side of mashed potatoes or my recipe for cauliflower mash. This particular day I served it with these delicious sweet potato patties and my cucumber and celery salad.
As far as seasoning goes, there are so many options but for this recipe I kept it simple with ingredients that are part of most kitchens.
Ingredients
1 whole chicken (about 3 to 4 pounds)
Seasoning blend:
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tbs lemon zest (approximately the zest of 1 lemon)
Juice of half a lemon
1 tbs olive oil
Directions
Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Yes, I said 500 degrees
Take the chicken out of the refrigerator about a half hour before cooking to allow it to come to room temperature. Rinse and pat dry the chicken well with paper towels. Make sure that you pat dry the cavity as well. In a small non-reactive bowl (plastic or glass) mix together all of the other ingredients. Spoon the seasoning mixture all over the chicken and rub it in all over. Put a little into the cavity too. You can either put the chicken on a rack positioned in a baking pan or baking sheet or put it into a oven proof pan that can withstand 500 degrees temperature as I have done here. A cast iron or carbon steel pan works very well.
Roast uncovered on the middle rack at 500 degrees for about 20 minutes. Don’t worry about the smoke; there will definitely be some smoke. The chicken will not burn to a crisp; believe me. After 20 minutes turn down the oven to 375 degrees. At this point, very loosely tent a piece of foil over the chicken and continue to roast for about another 30 minutes. Depending on the size of the chicken the total roasting time will vary. Usually it will take around 50 to 55 minutes. You can test for doneness by pricking the thickest part of the thigh to see if the juices run clear. Do this at around 45 minutes. If it’s still very bloody, then it needs to roast for another 10 minutes at least. If it’s just a little cloudy then another 5 to 6 minutes will do. If it’s clear it’s done. Or you can use a meat thermometer stuck into the thick thigh area, but not touching the bone. Temperature should reach around 160 to 165 degrees. Remove chicken from oven and transfer to a warm plate and let rest for at least 7 to 10 minutes before carving.
Let’s make an easy pan gravy.
Ingredients
Pan drippings
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup water or chicken stock
2 tsp arrowroot flour
2 tbs water
Directions
Put the pan that you used for roasting the chicken with all the drippings in it directly over a stove top burner on medium heat. Pour in the wine and allow it to deglaze the pan. Add in the 1/2 cup water. Use a spatula to scrape up all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Strain the pan juices over a mesh strainer into a saucepan. Let it come up to a simmer. Mix together the arrowroot flour and the 2 tbs of water to make a slurry. Slowly add the slurry to the saucepan while stirring. This will thicken the pan juices into a sauce/gravy.