OK guys, this is it. This is freaking good chicken. To me, this roast chicken is the ultimate comfort food. It's the perfect meal to share with dearly loved ones. When I think of this roast chicken, I think of the word "Welcome." It's like...a warm hug. In plated poultry form. That's why I call it Love Somebody Roast Chicken.
In full disclosure, I am not too great about sharing recipes, because I typically "wing it" (no pun intended) as I go. So please bear with me here.
Preparing this meal isn't difficult, but it does indeed take time. I know us Americans love to rush through everything, but you know what? Good food takes time. I have personally come to appreciate the discipline of giving my time to cooking and preparing a rich and delicious meal for those I love. It's become extremely meditative for me. Cooking is loving, folks!
In full disclosure Part Deux, I like to go big on flavor. There are few things in culinary life worse than bland and dry chicken, AMIRITE?! This roast chicken recipe is essentially a combination of several recipes with a few twists of my own. Y'all ready for this? [Cue "Space Jam" theme song]
What you'll need:
-1 organic free-range chicken about ~6 lbs. (because happy chickens are yummier chickens. My name is Sarah Brown, and I approve this message.)
-lots of thyme (in a bunch, and 1tsp thyme sprigs only)
-some rosemary (some kept on stem, and 1/2tsp finely minced)
-some sage (kept on stem)
-3 T butter (or ghee! or coconut oil! Trust me.)
-1 onion (1/2 kept in skin, other 1/2 coarsely sliced)
-1 head of garlic cut in half + 1 crushed garlic clove
-1 lemon
-salt and pepper
-kitchen string
-6 carrots (peeled and chopped)
-2 stalks celery (coarsely chopped)
-2T olive oil
And now for the Directions!
-Clean the chicken: remove the innards (I hate that word) and set aside, make sure chicken in fully thawed. Remove any extra feathers and fat or whatnot. Wash the inside and outside of chicken by scrubbing it by hand with salt. Rinse with cool water and pat dry with paper towels.
-Melt butter (or ghee or coconut oil) over low heat - don't let it brown or burn! Throw in a crushed garlic clove so it infuses the butter. Mmmmm. Set aside.
-Season inside of chicken with salt and pepper.
-Cut lemon in wedges, cut head of garlic in half (keeping the skin), cut onion in half (keeping skin), and stuff the chicken's cavity with as much of this as possible. Take a handful of thyme, a thing of rosemary, and a thing of sage, and stuff it in there as well. It's OK if the herbs stick out. Stuffing the chicken will give it wonderfully mellow undertones of lemon, onion, garlic, and herb flavors in every bite. Heaven on earth!
-Remove garlic clove from butter, and liberally brush butter all over the chicken. This will give your roast chicken a beautiful brown color and makes it perfectly crispy!
-Season chicken with more salt and pepper.
-Take some more herbs and stuff them underneath the skin at the neck and closer to the bottom of the chicken.
-For the veggies: Coarsely slice onions, chop celery and carrots; place in bowl. Mix with olive oil, season with salt and pepper to taste (don't go too crazy! The chicken will flavor the vegetables as well as it roasts). Add thyme sprigs and finely minced rosemary, then toss together. Place all veggies on bottom of a buttered roasting pan.
-Place chicken on top of vegetables. Tie chicken legs together with kitchen string. No, I didn't do this even though I knew I was supposed to (Do as I say, not as I do! ;). And you know what happened? The legs cooked faster than the rest of the chicken! Tying the legs together ensures a more even roasting/cooking process.
-Place in 420 degree F oven for approximately 1.5 hours or whenever the juices run clear when you poke the leg/thigh area. Occasionally check on the chicken while it's cooking and baste it with its own juices in the roasting pan.
-Let chicken sit for 15 minutes covered with foil before plating/serving.
Enjoy!!! And go love on somebody! Through chicken.
