Extraordinary Roast Chicken — sea salt and honey

Mar 26

Mar 26 Extraordinary Roast Chicken

Roast chicken is easily one of the most comforting meals on the planet. This particular recipe is my favorite. The scent of it roasting makes any atmosphere (even one in which you’re forcibly quarantined) feel cozy and intentional. Just the THOUGHT of it roasting with vegetables makes my mouth water.

If you’ve never roasted a chicken before, this is your moment! We’re all working from home these days, so there’s no better time to throw a chicken in the oven in between meetings and sit down to a feast when the dinner hour arrives. I typically serve my chicken with gravy, garlic mashed potatoes, a vegetable, and a salad, and the best part is that there’s always leftovers after the meal! On top of which, I make stock from the bones. So it’s pretty much the gift that keeps on giving.

But, we’re getting ahead of ourselves. For this post, I’ll just show you how to roast an insanely good chicken, make a delicious gravy, and feel like June Cleaver herself making a grand ole dinner!

Extraordinary Roast Chicken

recipe adapted from Ina Garten

Serves: 4-6 people
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 90 - 120 minutes

Ingredients:

1 (5 -6 pound) roasting chicken
Kosher salt
Black pepper
1 large bunch fresh thyme
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 lemon, halved
1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 large yellow onions, cut in half and sliced thickly
5 carrots, cleaned and cut into 2-inch pieces
Extra virgin olive oil
Butcher’s twine (if you have it! If not there’s a video link below that shows an easy hack.)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425°.

Place the cut carrots and sliced onion pieces into a large roasting pan. Toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil (more if it looks too dry), sprinkle with 1 tsp dried thyme, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper.

Remove giblets from the chicken. Place chicken, breast side up, on top of the vegetables and tuck the wings under the roast. Generously season the cavity of the chicken with salt and pepper. And I mean REALLY salt this bird. Stuff the cavity with the halved lemon, halved head of garlic, fresh thyme, and fresh rosemary. Tie the legs with butcher’s twine—no need to worry about trussing here—literally just tie the legs snugly together. (If you’re unsure how to tuck the wings or if you don’t have butcher’s twine, this video is AWESOME! It shows how you can make do without.)

Brush the roast with the melted butter, taking care to coat all exposed sides. Liberally salt and pepper the outside of the bird. Roast the chicken until the juices run clear and the meat between the body and thigh reaches a temperature of 165°, between 90-120 minutes. (More info on doneness here.)

Serve the chicken with the roasted vegetables in the bottom of the pan.

BONUS: If you want to make chicken gravy, take the drippings from the bottom of the roasting pan and heat in a small saucepan. Simmer and add a cup or so of canned chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Allow the mixture to cook down, then add flour a tablespoon at a time and whisk until thick. (I use Wondra for this because it instantly dissolves and doesn’t clump, but if you don’t have it, regular flour is fine.) Gravy won’t thicken? Add a little more flour and continue whisking over high heat.