Lemon and Herb Roasted Chicken



This was part of a very fallish Saturday night dinner. What you don't see is the roasted squash.

In the 20 years that Peg and I have been married, we've never roasted a chicken. We've done turkeys countless times, but not chickens. Why? Don't know. 99% of our chicken comes in the form of boneless-skinless breasts...it's quick, it's easy, it's versatile. Well, things have changed.

Some days it's like Iron Chef Kitchen Stadium around our house - I never know what is going to turn up. Friday night I helped put away groceries and came across a whole chicken.

Me: "A whole chicken?!"
Peg: "Yeah, I think we need to roast a chicken to go along with that squash."
Me: "Are you going to make Beer Can Chicken?"
Peg: "I would but we don't have any gluten-free beer in cans".

Now I'm sure we could've worked out the logistics of making a gluten-free beer can chicken if we put our minds to it, but we had a zillion other things to do around the house on Saturday. As I was recovering from my yard raking & mowing induced myocardial infarction, I decided to consult one of my friends about a roasted chicken recipe. It didn't take long before he suggested a recipe from Tyler Florence of Food Network fame.

I decided on Tyler's recipe because 1) there is only a handful of ingredients 2) there is only a handful of steps 3) it was going to taste great! I don't like following recipes in the first place, and it's even worse when it's long and drawn out...and often times organized weirdly...and often times makes me swear at it [maybe I'm the one that's organized weirdly, but that's whole 'nother post...].

Some people like gourmet-type foods with an ingredient list as long as your arm and a set of directions that is as thick as War and Peace. I have neither the patience nor the time for that! I'm a simple guy, that likes simple, but great tasting gluten-free food. Tyler's recipe is a perfect example of how you can take simple ingredients and make amazing food! Yes, "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts".

This recipe is a keeper. In our house we call it "Company Food" [food we'd serve to guests].

If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross-Contact.



Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (organic, free-range if you like)
1 lemon, quartered
1 head of garlic, halved
1/4 bunch of fresh rosemary, thyme and parsley, roughly chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 pounds of red potatoes (all about the same size)
Salt & Pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400

Tyler's recipe [and many others] calls for rinsing the chicken, however the USDA suggests that rinsing can spread bacteria thus increasing cross contamination risks. When cooked properly (internal temp >165) any bacteria on the chicken will be destroyed.

Season the cavity with salt & pepper - after removing the bag of "goodies" found inside.

Stuff the herbs, garlic & lemon inside the cavity.

Tie the legs together and place into roasting pan. I used our dutch oven, it was a snug fit so I didn't tie the legs.

Season outside liberally with salt & pepper and drizzle the olive oil over the entire chicken.

Toss in the potatoes around the chicken.

Roast for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Remember to baste the chicken with the drippings every 20 minutes.

Check internal temp by inserting an instant read thermometer into thickest part of of thigh - it should read 165 degrees.

Remove from pan and let rest for 10 minutes before carving.

Enjoy!


Note: We saved the pan drippings, added the carcass (and the head of garlic) back to the dutch oven and covered it with tap water. Let this come to a boil for 10-15 minutes and strained the liquid gold into a large bowl or measuring cup. After cooling, place in fridge. The fat will rise to the top to be skimmed off later. This will be the base for some killer chicken soup!

Until the next good eats...


Al