Roast Chicken

Roast Chicken

This is a super easy way to prepare a chicken.  The house smells great and the chicken always come out moist and tender.  I usually use a Whole Foods chicken that weighs about 3-5 pounds.

1.  Preheat oven to 400F
2.  Using kitchen shears, cut along both sides of the backbone and reserve for stock.
3.  I usually remove the first little piece of wing tip and use them in stock later too but they could be folded underneath.
4.  Clean the inside of the chicken, turn skin-side up and mash down to flatten with the palm of your hand.
5.  Place skin side up in a shallow roasting pan and rub with a high heat veggie oil.
6.  Season with salt, pepper, rosemary-garlic seasoning if desired, and a bit of paprika.
7.  Place in oven and roast turning once and spooning with juice.  I allow 90 minutes for roasting, 15 minutes leeway and 15 minutes resting on the back of the stove.  So plan on 2 hours plus 15 minutes prep.
8.  The chicken is done when juices run clear and the leg joint is very loose.

I used to serve roast chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy but have recently replaced mashed potatoes with handcrafted oven fries.  Now I start the fries a little after the chicken is roasting.  I leave the skin on the potatoes and slice into fries, toss with oil, garlic salt and pepper and spread onto a sheet plan.  Roast along with the chicken for 45 minutes or so.

Astrid