Not only is whole roast chicken cheap, but it’s incredibly versatile and you really can’t mess it up. It’s always good and those tender slices of white meat in a sandwich on whole-grain bread with mustard, lettuce and a slice of nice tomato the next day are amazing. Dig into it and try your hand and whole roast chicken.
Select a fresh five-pound chicken at your grocery store. If they’re on sale, you can buy a couple and freeze one, but I like to buy it, take it home and prepare it right away.
Wash the inside of the chicken pulling out all the disgusting stuff. Rinse again and pat it dry inside and out with paper toweling.
Here’s the fun part. Stuff the inside cavity and neck with vegetables, fruits or herbs or any combination that suites you. Then stuff herbs, fruit, butter or garlic under the skin along the breast. Finally, rub spices, herbs, mustard and salt into the skin with a little olive oil.
A Couple of my Roast Chicken Preps
- Stuff the cavity with a small quartered onion, a chunked stalk of celery, and a half lemon and a few sprigs of thyme. Then stuff a few additional sprigs of thyme, a couple of slices of lemon and a little butter under the skin. Finally, rub all over with a mixture of a couple tablespoons of dijon mustard, salt and pepper.
- Another great one is to chunk a fresh stalk of rhubarb and a couple of unpealed orange quarters and stuff them in the cavity. Then chop some more rhubarb and thin slices of orange and stuff it under the skin. Finally, rub the skin all over with salt and pepper.
- Make up some of your own! You really can’t go wrong!
Finally, jam a wire poultry roasting stand into the cavity of the bird. Always use a poultry stand whenever you can. The meat comes out much more moist, the skin is crisp and your bird isn’t sitting in its own grease.
Stand it in a roasting pan and place it uncovered on the lowest rack of your oven at about 400F. Check it after about twenty minutes and if the skin is nice and brown, take it out and place a tent of foil over the bird, reduce the heat to 375F. and continue roasting for another hour. Check the temperature by inserting an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part of the breast. When the temperature reaches at least 165F. your bird is done.
When your whole roast chicken has finished roasting, remove from the oven and let it rest for 5-10 minutes and then carve it up any way you like using a meat fork and carving knife. They’re a little awkward to handle, but be bold and don’t worry about how you cut it up.
Serve it up with rice pilaf or roasted potatoes along with a fresh green salad with sunflower seeds and orange bits and a nice vinagrette dressing. Generous hunks of whole grain bread are a nice touch.
Enjoy!
Yours along TheRomanticWay!
Rod
