I always hear people talk about how in the "old" days, families would all get together after Sunday church to have a huge, homemade, fried chicken feast. I've even heard tales from my dad of how he witnessed my Great-Grandma Eitzen killing a chicken for such a feast, and how the poor beast ran crazily out-of-control around the yard (sans head) while it tried to die. Now, I'm not one for fried food, chicken or not, but I thought I could bring to my home the same sort of meal that brought to those at my table the heart-warming feeling of a good old-fashioned meal that feeds not only their tummies but their souls.
And as always... butter makes everything better.
Sunday Roast Chicken
Whole chicken (On sale at Fresh & Easy... I got this 4+ pounder for $2.67)
1/2 onion, celery stick, a few carrot sticks
few tabs of butter
salt and pepper
Warning: this bird smells so tasty while roasting that you may have to wear a bib to sop up all that drool that will be dripping down your chin...
1. Rinse the chicken off and put it in a roasting pan or lasagna pan. Some birds come with the innards tucked inside... mine fortunately did not. So I just rinse it off and spread the legs out a bit so they can be stuffed. (Note: I love that my legs are already tied together with twine... if yours does not come that way, invest in twine and tie the legs together, it will help the bird keep its shape during cooking!).
2. Stuff the inside with onion chunks and celery and carrot sticks. Melt a few tabs of butter and spread over skin (a pastry brush is good for this), then sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly-cracked pepper.
3. Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for about 90 minutes for a 4lb bird. Skin will be crackling and brown and the leg should wiggle loosely in its socket.
Serve with creamy mashed potatoes and a side of steamed broccoli and carrots or some summer squash and red peppers sauteed with olive oil and garlic salt.
So tasty.
Helpful hints:
*We don't like the dark meat on chicken, so we mostly devour the white meat and I save all the dark meat to throw into my Summer Pasta dish from last week.
*Save the carcass to make homemade chicken broth for soups and stews!
*I noticed that the order of my veggie-stuffing in the birdy booty makes a difference in how the bird tastes. One day I shoved in all my onions first and the bird had a very distinct onion flavor. I also noticed that one time it had a distinct carrot flavor. Try to alternate what you shove in the bird so that nothing overpowers all the other flavors.
*I don't trust anything that has been cooked inside of an animal... stuffing at Thanksgiving included!!! So I suggest not eating the veggies you have stuffed inside your wee little chicken, and instead just make more on the side. I know there is facts and evidence on why you shouldn't eat the stuff that has been cooked inside the carcass, but I'm too lazy to look that up right now, so just trust me on this one!
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Wow someone has been on a cooking frenzy! I was just telling Ryan yesterday that we should have you and your fam over for dinner ... but with your mad cooking skills I might feel a little intimidated! Can I invite you guys over AND use one of your recipes for dinner??? =) I am SO making the chicken this week ... like maybe tonight ... =)
ReplyDeleteAaaand, I might be roasting a chicken tonight...
ReplyDeleteThis little dish is so good and so easy! Loved ones ooh and ahhh over how much effort you put into this super easy and super yummy meal.
ReplyDeleteThe only change I make is to sprinkle just a tiny bit of poultry seasoning on the veggies if I remember, otherwise on the bird.
Yum! I know what I'm making for Honey when he comes home at the end of the week! Thanks for posting it as a reminder to me of how yummy it is.
Do you remember having Grandma Eitzen's roasted chicken?? It's got a smiiiidge of Anise in it (which sounds weird but is OUTSTANDING. Want the recipe??!?!?!
ReplyDeleteMmmmmmm Gma Eitzen's chicken. We have the recipe here but I never thought of putting the Anise on a whole chiken. Hmmmmmmmm that's a delicious thought! Dr. Carlton, if you read this, did you ever find Anise seed over yonder in mitten land?
ReplyDeleteAre you trying to steal Jeffrey away from Ina with your roast chicken?? You know how much he loves coming home to a crackling bird in the oven.
ReplyDeleteMy mouth is watering after seeing this post! Yummy!
ReplyDeleteWe made this last night and it was DELICIOUS! Thanks for sharing the idea/recipe! We will most certainly be having it again soon.
ReplyDeleteP.S. - How exactly do you make the broth from the carcass?
Hi! I tried to find your email to respond, but couldn't. Congrats on getting your garden in! I am TOTALLY behind on planting and a little stressed about it, but that's life. And yes, I'm in Bakersfield, and we live in the city! Are you in city or county limits? I live next door to Animal Control, and she's totally aware of our chickens. She moved in to the apartment that overlooks our yard about six months after we got them, and I'm pretty sure they wake her up every morning. ;) When we first called the department, they said no chickens. But I looked up the actual municipal code, and as long as you have them in a coop or yard, there's no restriction. We don't have a rooster, because they are pretty noisy, but we have seven chickens who squawk each time they lay. Do you have a small yard? You can still get two or three chickens, and have compost, too! The trick to keeping it from being smelly is to keep your kitchen scraps covered with dirt, grass or leaf layers, which isn't hard to do if you have a lawn and a tree or two. You can use a big plastic trash bin with holes drilled in it for air. Or you can pile it in the corner of the yard if you're cheap and lazy like me. ;) We have a pretty deep lot, so it's not a problem, but we also have three old wooden bins that I filled last year and the compost is now gorgeous! I'm the laziest composter ever, so if I can do it anyone can!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I love your moniker! I was Olive Oyl for Halloween when I was a 5'9" 10-year-old. :) And your blog graphics are so fun! Adding you to my follow list!!
~Amanda
Mmmmm I made a really good roasted chicken the other day, it was very close to yours but I tossed in some fresh rosemary (It grows great here in reno)...husband said, "mmm it's like thanksgiving.
ReplyDeletethen i made mashed potatoes with cream cheese in them and gained 48 lbs but damn they were good.
people have been saying they are having trouble adding me to their readers...make sure you are adding
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o o o
ReplyDeleteyou forgot one thing
BREAD SERVE WITH BREAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I also freak out about things stuffed in the chicken. What i have started stuffing in mine, fresh herbs, rosemary, thyme, shallot (less onion flavor), garlic and sliced lemon, and a half sliced orange. the citrus gives it a sweet flavor and also keeps it moist. The herbs totally rock it. I rub olive oil, salt pepper, and rosemary on the top of it and let it marinate the night before and then rub again in the morning. i do that because olive oil is supposed to be good for the heart.
finally, i save the white meat that my husband hates (like you hate dark meat) and i hide it in chicken salad sandwiches for his lunch for that week. it makes a very cheap and tasty summer lunch and it utilizes the parts of the chicken people don't like!
So I'm also kind of scared of whole chickens. Maybe someday when I grow up, I'll make one. They always do look good though...once they're finished, that is.
ReplyDeleteokay you NEED TO POST SOMETHING NEW. I tried this and it was amazing, but in the last few days I've had chicken aversion and I just about choked when I opened your blog to the chicken carcas!!! PLEASE POST SOMETHING NEW!!??? Perhaps of my darling S???
ReplyDelete