I am obsessed with chicken. I used to hate it. I thought it was boring and frankly hard to cook with little reward. But my friend Kim turned me on to roasting chicken, which if you haven’t done it before sounds terrifying. Don’t fear. Roasting chicken is insanely easy and unbelievably yummi-licious! Plus you can get 2 meals and a stock out of 1 whole chicken and the Chinese in me can’t resist a 2 for 1 bargain.
It does take time (about 2 hours), but if you plan your day out, its sooo easy and totally worth it.
I love to soak my chicken in buttermilk. I think you can NOT go wrong with this method, unless you’re a complete tardo, and frankly if that’s the case, maybe you shouldn’t be touching an oven, let alone a whole uncooked chicken (think about it)… The buttermilk not only gives it this subtle creamy flavor, it keeps the chicken moist and TDF.
Below is a super simple no fail recipe.
Thanks Ian and Allyson for being my guinea pigs: D
3 1/2 lb organic chicken (feeds 4 people with sides)
2 cups Buttermilk
3/4 cup (1/2 stick) salted butter
4-5 cloves of chopped garlic
1 carrot peeled and chopped
2 stalks of celery cleaned and chopped
1/2 medium sweet onion chopped
1. Pat Chicken dry. Put in plastic bag and pour 2 cups of Buttermilk. Seal. Put in refrigerator for up to 2 days.
2. Take chicken out of bag and pat dry. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
3. Separate the skin from the body by using your hand to gently lift the skin. Be sure to get the breast, and drumsticks.
3. Separate the skin from the body by using your hand to gently lift the skin. Be sure to get the breast, and drumsticks.
4. In a small pan melt butter and garlic together and let simmer for a minute. Once done pour melted butter into a dish and let sit at room temperature till solid. If you’re in a rush and want to lessen the dish pile you can microwave the butter and garlic together then put in the refrigerator for about 10- 15 mins. Note: you don’t want to butter to harden as it’ll make spreading hard.
5. Spread the room temperature butter under the skin. Make sure to get it EVERYWHERE. Stuff chicken with veggies and tie drumstick together. I like to tie the string on one foot, and then wrap it around the other. Salt, pepper and stick it in the over for about 1 1/2 hours.
I like to turn the oven up to 400 degrees for the last 10 minutes. I like my skin crisp as you can see :). If using a meat thermometer it should read 165 degrees when done. I like to turn the oven off at 160 and let it sit. It’ll continue to cook while settling and cooling.
Bon Appétit!
Stay tuned for dish #2: Chicken Pot Pie
obsessivelee yours, 
was delicious
I would like to be a chicken pot pie guinea pig, please thank you. P.S. And then I can school you on how to roast guinea pig.
I’d figured out when I used Polenta for crbnroead it needed more liquid. I rarely stick to the given liquid amount in recipes because things like flour and cornmeal vary in porosity[ have I got that right?] I go by how it feels and looks. When I was at school [in the days when being a good housewife was what we were supposed to aim for no matter how bright,] we used to have a complete day in our schools kitchen. When we were being shown how to make a sponge the teacher said to make sure you have the right consistency, take a spoonful of your mix, hold it over the bowl and count to three. If the mix falls off on three it’s about the right consistency. That’s been a really useful tip over the years.For Yorkshire pudding, dip a tablespoon into the mix, hold it up and if the mix lightly coats the back of the spoon it’s the right consistency.BTW, I’m sure you know Canadian wheat is supposed to make the best flour for bread.English wheat is too soft’. Some time ago, I think I read that our big bread manufacturers import Canadian wheat.I have found Canadian strong bread flour in one of our local supermarkets and am going to give it a try once I’ve used up my present stock of English. 0
Roast chicken is one of the few things I can actually cook, youre recipe is getting a try next time! Kisses.