Roasted Whole Chicken
Ingredients
-
4-6 lb. whole chicken
-
1 lemon, cut into wedges
-
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
-
½ cup fresh parsley leaves, roughly chopped
-
2-3 tbsp. butter, melted
-
For dry brine:
-
3 tbsp. salt
-
1 tbsp. all-natural granulated sugar
-
1 tbsp. black pepper
-
Root Vegetables to roast:
-
1 butternut squash, cut into 1-in chunks
-
1 white onion, chopped into matchsticks
-
2 parsnips, cut into ¼-inch slices
Directions
COOKING VIDEO AVAILABLE: See tips for details
NIGHT BEFORE ROASTING CHICKEN:
To brine your chicken: Unwrap chicken, over sink. Rinse with cold water, inside and out, and pat dry. Mix 3 tbsp. salt, 1 tbsp. sugar, and 1 tbsp. black pepper. Using pan you will use to roast the chicken, place chicken in center and rub dry-brine-mixture all over the surface. Refrigerate, uncovered, overnight.
DAY OF YOUR ROAST:
Preheat oven to 425*3Remove chicken from oven and let it reach room temperature. Melt butter in microwave (30 seconds-ish will do it). Combine parsley and melted butter and spread it over the chicken’s surface.
Arrange your chopped vegetables (I chose butternut squash, onion, and parsnips… see tips for other options) around the chicken. Drizzle vegetables with olive oil and sprinkle them with salt.
Roast chicken for 90 minutes at 425. The internal temperature should register at 190*F after cooking complete. (90 minutes was plenty of time for my 4.75 lb. chicken… If you have a >6 lb. chicken it may need a bit more time)
Once cooking complete, remove from oven and let rest for 30 minutes or so. (So the juices settle)
To cut your chicken: Remove each leg and thigh by gently pulling on them. It should come off nice and easy (which is an indicator the chicken is done). Next, there is a breast bone that goes from the top to the bottom down the center. Cut on either side (along the side of ribs) for the breast meat. Once breast meat is removed, cut underneath for some darker meat. Its messy the first time, but doable... so just go for it!
Tips: For my step-by-step cooking video, visit www.facebook.com/PositivelyCooking for the link to YouTube. Enjoy! Other roasting vegetable ideas: Carrots, any kind of potato (including sweet potato), any kind of onion, radishes, brussel sprouts, zucchini.
Printer-friendly version