Preheat oven to 450f
Wash and dry a whole chicken. Let it stand out until it is room temperature
Drizzle a little olive oil in the bottom of a roasting pan. Make a fairly even layer of carrots, cut lengthwise so they won’t roll around, celery stalks, thick sliced onions and whatever other veggies you find in the crisper that need to go soon. This is the bed for your chicken.
Salt and pepper the inside of the chicken then stuff with chunks of onion, a whole head of garlic, cut in half, and a cut up lemon. Fresh Rosemary, Thyme and a few Basil leaves can go into the cavity too if you have it.
I make a butter rub in a mortar & pestle. Start with 2 T kosher salt, 1T black pepper, 1 t. paprika, 1 T fresh thyme and the zest of one lemon. Smash this around till well mixed then add one cube of softened butter and make paste (I use a flat wooden spoon or a rice paddle).
Set your stuffed chicken on it’s vegetable bed and, with clean hands, spread the butter rub under the skin on the breast and all over the outside of the bird, top to bottom, front to back. Use it all, it will be thick.
Put your precious bird in the oven uncovered for 15 minutes at 450f then reduce the heat to 200f. Cook until the internal temp. at the breast reaches 160f. I use a digital thermometer that has an alarm (a favorite gadget of mine). Let rest with covered with foil for 15 minutes before cutting.
We are having this with mashed potatoes and a vegetable to be named later. Probably sautéed garlic sesame spinach.
Wash and dry a whole chicken. Let it stand out until it is room temperature
Drizzle a little olive oil in the bottom of a roasting pan. Make a fairly even layer of carrots, cut lengthwise so they won’t roll around, celery stalks, thick sliced onions and whatever other veggies you find in the crisper that need to go soon. This is the bed for your chicken.
Salt and pepper the inside of the chicken then stuff with chunks of onion, a whole head of garlic, cut in half, and a cut up lemon. Fresh Rosemary, Thyme and a few Basil leaves can go into the cavity too if you have it.
I make a butter rub in a mortar & pestle. Start with 2 T kosher salt, 1T black pepper, 1 t. paprika, 1 T fresh thyme and the zest of one lemon. Smash this around till well mixed then add one cube of softened butter and make paste (I use a flat wooden spoon or a rice paddle).
Set your stuffed chicken on it’s vegetable bed and, with clean hands, spread the butter rub under the skin on the breast and all over the outside of the bird, top to bottom, front to back. Use it all, it will be thick.
Put your precious bird in the oven uncovered for 15 minutes at 450f then reduce the heat to 200f. Cook until the internal temp. at the breast reaches 160f. I use a digital thermometer that has an alarm (a favorite gadget of mine). Let rest with covered with foil for 15 minutes before cutting.
We are having this with mashed potatoes and a vegetable to be named later. Probably sautéed garlic sesame spinach.
What's your spinach recipe?
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