Advice On Roasting A Chicken

by amhall

posted on 06/09/2009

Perhaps no dish is as versatile and delicious as a roast chicken. Frequently, they cost no more than a few dollars, easily feeding a family. Even if you live alone, a roast chicken offers an incomparable value. You can roast a chicken on Sunday and eat the leftovers throughout the following week. The best part is that roasting a chicken is quick and easy, requiring little more than an oven, a baking sheet, and a chicken.

The first step is obviously to go to the store a buy a chicken. Five or six pounds is a good size because you will probably have some leftovers for lunch tomorrow. While you are at the store, you might want to pick up some vegetables (onions, carrots, celery) and seasonings (fresh herbs, lemon, salt and pepper, garlic) to give your chicken a little more flavor. If you do not already have cooking oil, you might want to pick up some of that too.

Now you've returned home with your bounty, including (hopefully) a whole defrosted chicken. The first step now is to preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. The hotter the oven, the crispier the skin on your chicken will be so it's best to do this now. (If you want super-crispy skin, you can salt the chicken the night before.) Reaching inside of your chicken, you will probably find a little sack of giblets. You can throw these away, along with any loose skin and that you trim away from the neck of the chicken. Rinse the chicken and pat it dry with paper towels.

As your chicken dries, roughly chop your vegetables into a few large chunks and put them on your baking sheet. They will act like a little edible roasting rack for your chicken. Place the chicken on the vegetables. Coat the chicken with some oil and season it well with salt and pepper. If you have a lemon or some fresh herbs and garlic, give them a rough chop and put them inside the chicken. You might want to tuck the wings underneath the chicken so that they don't burn.

Now that you have your chicken all gussied up, put it in your piping hot, 425 degree, oven. Set a timer for fifteen minutes. After that turn down the heat to 375 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour. If you have a meat thermometer, you will want insert at the top of the thigh. It should register 165 degrees Fahrenheit. If you do not have a thermometer, you can press on the same part of the chicken. It should feel firm, like the palm of your hand. You might also cut the leg away from the chicken, to be certain that the juices are clear, not cloudy and pink. Wait a few minutes before you carve the chicken.... and voila! A delicious and inexpensive dish sure to impress!

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