Roast Chicken with Lemon & Garlic

 

A well roasted chicken is a beautiful thing to behold . . .  moist and tender, almost succulent, with a crisp and flavourful skin.  I think of all the roasts, it is one of my favourites.

 

There are a few rules to follow when roasting a chicken, first one being, buy the best chicken that you can afford to buy.  For me it is always a free range organic corn fed chicken.  They taste the best.  Because there are only two of us, this chicken will easily do us for three meals, and give the dog some treats also.  It is affordable for us, but I understand for a larger family this might not be practical, so just buy the best chicken you can afford for your money.

 

Baste, baste, baste.  If you baste your chicken frequently, you will end up with a juicier, more flavourful chicken with a nice crisp skin.  Its simple really. You can roast it on a rack, or on a trivet of vegetables.  I like the trivet of vegetables because you end up with some really tasty vegetables at the end of it. (Any root vegetable works well. Just peel and place in the bottom of your roaster, cutting them into similar sized pieces and place the seasoned chicken on top.)

 

Garlic and lemon work with chicken to form a trinity of delicious flavours. In this instance, the chicken itself is filled with four peeled and bruised garlic cloves, a small onion peeled and quartered, one half lemon and its juice, and a nice sprig of fresh thyme.  Simple.

 

You can brush it with either melted butter or some olive oil, and sprinkle it with some herbs.

 

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme . . .  just like the song . . . along with some salt and black pepper. 

 

Sometimes I will push some butter in between the skin of the breast and the chicken, but today I was going for simple without any faffing about.  

  

Roasted long and slow in a moderate to low oven (165*C/325*F/ gas mark 3) and basting every fifteen minutes or so gave us the tastiest results ever, and plenty of lovely juices for making a tasty gravy with.  Your chicken is done when the juices run clear when pricked between the thigh and the breast, and then the bone in the drumstick wiggles easily.

Yield: 4 - 5Author: Marie Rayner

Roast Chicken with Lemon & Garlic

prep time: 10 minscook time: 2 hourtotal time: 2 hours and 10 mins

Buy the best roasting chicken you can afford and roast it this way, and you will aways be happy with the results.

ingredients:

1 roasting chicken, (1.75 - 2.2 KG) (3 1/2 - 5 lb.) in weight

1 small onion, peeled and quartered

4 fat cloves garlic, peeled and bruised

1 large sprig of dried thyme

1/2 small  lemon

1 TBS olive oil or melted butter

1/4 tsp each salt, pepper, and dried thyme, parsley, sage and rosemary

4 tsp flour

250ml chicken stock (1 cup)

instructions:

Preheat the oven to 165*C/325*F/ gas mark 3.

Remove
 any giblets from the chicken and pat dry.  Insert the sprig of thyme,
quartered onion, garlic cloves and 1/2 lemon (squeezing in the juice and
 throwing in the crushed lemon) into the cavity of the chicken.  Tie
legs together.  Place onto a roasting rack in a roasting tin  Brush the
outsides with the olive oil or melted butter.  Mix together the salt,
pepper and dried herbs.  Sprinkle over the chicken.

Roast
 in the preheated oven for 1 3/4 to 2 hours (for smaller chicken) or up
to 3 hours (for larger chicken).  The juices should run clear and a meat
 thermometer inserted in the thigh should register 85*C/185*F when
done.  Transfer to a platter, tent with foil and let stand for 20
minutes before carving.

Skim any fat from the
 juices in the roasting tin, and discard. Sprinkle flour over the juices
 in the pan.  Cook, stirring, over medium heat for several minutes. Pour
 in the chicken stock and any accumulated juices from the platter. 
Bring to the boil, stirring constantly, until thickened.  Cook over low
heat for about 5 minutes.  Strain into a gravy boat to serve.

How to Carve a Chicken: 
 Cut through any string holding the legs together. Remove anything from
the cavity (onions, etc.) and discard, tipping any juices into the gravy
 pan.  Using kitchen scissors, cut chicken in half along backbone and
breastbone. Cut around the natural crease at thigh to make two breast and two
 leg portions.  Cut the breasts in half diagonally, and cut the thighs
separate from the drumsticks at the joints.

Created using The Recipes Generator

 

Again going or simple, I served this with plenty of mash, some stove top stuffing and green beans.  Everyone was happy.  We also got a dinner of hash which I made with cubed potatoes, leftover chicken and leftover stuffing. (I served with baked beans) and  I have a lovely carcass to make a soup with.  Oh, and Mitzie has gotten two meals from it also.  (I mix a few TBS of it with some of her dry kibble.  She is in heaven!)  You can never go wrong with a Roast Chicken. Never. Bon Appetit!