June 2, 2009

Roasted Chicken Recipes

One of the most delightful and satisfying meals is roasted chicken. It's hard to get it wrong, the most important detail is the cooking time, which is 20 minutes/pound. If you don’t under or over cook the chicken you can’t go wrong. Find a whole, organic chicken. It will often contain a bag of giblets in the cavity so be sure to remove that before cooking. There are MANY ways to roast a chicken. Here are my two favorites:

Option #1 – Roasted Whole Chicken with Vegetables

1. Place the whole chicken breast-side-up in a generous sized roasting pan (at least 9x11)
2. Rub or drizzle a bit of butter or olive oil on the chicken
3. Chop 2 or 3 potatoes, 2 onions and lots of baby carrots or 4 chopped carrots and assemble around the chicken in the roasting pan (broccoli is also good, as is celery and any of your other favorite vegetables)
4. Sprinkle with Trader Joe’s Poultry Seasoning and salt and pepper and place in the oven at 350 F, 20 minutes per pound (a 5 lb chicken will be 100 minutes, a 3 lb chicken will be 60 min, etc.)
5. Every now and then place a wooden spoon into the cavity, tip the chicken so the juices run out into the pan, then baste the chicken (a spoon works fine) and stir the vegetables.
6. Chicken will be done right when the timer goes off! Check for doneness by cutting into the breast and looking for red juices, or tip chicken as in step #5 and notice if the juices are red or clear. When they are clear the chicken is done.

Option #2 – Roasted Whole Chicken with Lemon

1. Place the whole chicken breast-side-up in a generous-sized roasting pan
2. Rub or drizzle a bit of butter or olive oil on the chicken
3. Quarter 3 or 4 lemons and place inside the cavity
4. Sprinkle with Trader Joe’s Poultry Seasoning and salt and pepper and place in the oven at 350 F, 20 minutes per pound. (A 5 lb chicken will be 100 minutes, a 3 lb chicken will be 60 min, etc.) Occasionally will take longer when the cavity is filled so check for doneness by tipping as described above in #6.

Gravy Option: Pour some drippings into a saucepan or frying pan. Add a little boiling water to thin consistency. Simmer over low/medium heat stirring constantly adding cornstarch 1 Tbsp at a time to desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with brown rice and a crunchy salad and enjoy!

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