Roast Chicken & Veggies

I roast a chicken for dinner once a week for two reasons. One, because it's economical. For under ten dollars we have enough chicken for two dinners. (Bonus: from the bones I can make nutritious stock that just can't be bought in a store, which I use literally every day.) Two, because it's EASY. Roast chicken night means I'm not spending a significant portion of my afternoon in the kitchen preparing dinner. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy cooking, but it's always nice to have a break. And while he following instructions don't make it SEEM easy, once you get he hang of it, it's a piece of cake.

It's important to buy quality chicken. I don't recommend going to the store and buying just any old chicken, however pastured chickens from the farmer's market cost upwards of twenty dollars for a three pound bird, so it's not economically feasible on a weekly basis. I usually compromise and buy Mary's chickens from Whole Foods. At $2.99 a pound, they're easier on my already stretched food budget (and occasionally they go on sale for .99 a pound and I can stock up!). Mary's chickens are rated 3 on the 5 step animal rating Standards. Not ideal, but better than Foster Farms.

Roasting a chicken is super easy, but I have a few mom tips to share with you to ensure that your bird turns out nice and juicy. First of all, you don't need a roasting pan, but it's helpful to have a roasting rack. Racks aren't terribly expensive and take up less storage space in your ktchen than a roasting pan. (I'm all about keeping unessesary items out of my kitchen!) I use it with a large casserole dish and it works just fine. Second of all, roasting a chicken takes a little plannng ahead, so make sure you start the process early enough or you'll be eating at midnight!

Ingredients

1 whole chicken
A few dabs of pastured butter (we use Kerrygold)
A few cloves of garlic, peeled and cut into pieces
Sea salt (I use Celtic sea salt)
Pepper (I like Trader Joe's lemon pepper that comes in a grinder)
Lemon or orange (optional)
Vegetables for roasting (potatoes, carrots, onions, sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts, etc)

Directions

1. Take your chicken out of the fridge about two hours before you're going to cook it. (Save the neck and gizzards for your stock, or for yor pets!) place it on the rack breast side up. Ideally you want it to be room temperature before you put it in the oven. I take it out after lunch. I don't wash the chicken because if there are any germs on it they will be killed during cooking, and I don't want to splash germs all over the sink and countertops.

2. Pull up the skin of the chicken and shove plenty of butter underneath, along with the garlic. If you want nice, crispy skin (and who doesn't?!) melt some butter and brush it all over. Season with sea salt and peper. I like to apply lemon pepper generously. If citrus is in season, you can cut up an orange or a lemon and stick the pieces in the cavity along with some cloves of garlic. Chop up the veggies and arrange them underneath the chicken. They will roast in the juices while the chicken cooks.

3. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. You want the oven nice and hot because you're going to crisp up the skin first so it holds in the juices. Put the chicken and veggies in the oven for 15 minutes. When the timer goes off, I like to turn the chicken over so the juices soak into the breast meat (or you can turn it over later). I shove a heavy duty wooden spoon into the cavity and use tongs to spin it around. Put the dish back in the oven and turn the temperature down to 325 degrees. You want to cook your chicken the rest of the way slowly. I always set the timer for another hour for an average size bird.

4. When the timer goes off, put a meat thermometer in the thigh making sure it's not touching a bone. If the thigh is 175, the breast will be done. If it's not done, put it back in the oven and check the temperature occassionally. Once you become experienced you'll be able to determine doneness by the loseness of the joints when you wiggle the drumstick. Don't overcook your chicken, it will be dry!

5. Take the chicken out of the oven, cover it with a foil tent, and let it rest at least twenty minutes before you even think about cutting into it! Check your veggies at this point. If they're not fully cooked, put them back in the oven at 400 degreees while your bird rests. If they are fully cooked, turn the oven off and put the veggies back in to stay warm until dinner.

6. It's time to carve! If you want your family to love you even more than they already do, serve with corn bread or biscuits. (you can bake either of these things while your chicken is resting.). These are treats at our house, but they sure do hit the spot with roast chicken and veggies!

Mom Tip

* Whenever you chop up vegetables (except for potatoes) save the scraps in a container in the freezer. You'll use these when you make your stock and you won't have to use up perfectly good vegetables. I save carrot skins and ends, onion skins, celery parts, etc. all week long and make stock once a week.

* Put the citrus pieces down your garbage disposal after cooking the bird to freshen up your drain.

* After dinner, while the carcass is still warm, is the best time to havest the remaining meat off of your bird. If you refrigerate the carcass to do it later it's much more difficult. I usually get another two cups of meat that I then use in a recipe later in the week, or for chicken sandwiches throughout the week. Once the carcass is down to the bones, you can start your stock or put the bones in the freezer to make your stock at another time.