Roasted Young Chicken

I know I posted a recipe for a roasted cornish game hen that was similar to this, but this is a larger chicken and I will follow up with some great leftover ideas. I am posting this just before the weekend because this makes a great saturday or sunday afternoon meal so that you can use the leftovers throughout the rest of the week.

Here are the general instructions I used, from www.chow.com

Preparation: Whole Chicken:

1. Remove the neck and giblets from the cavity (use the neck, gizzard, and heart for stock; use the liver for stuffing). Rinse under cold water, pat dry, and season inside and out with salt, pepper, and any desired herbs.
2. Place lemon halves and herb sprigs inside the chicken cavity, or stuff as desired. Tie the legs together with butcher’s string to keep its shape. For crispy skin, massage the chicken with softened butter or oil.
3. Roast at 400°F for 15 minutes.
4. Reduce the heat to 350°F and cook for about 1 1/2 hours for a broiler fryer, 2 hours for a capon, 2 1/2 hours for a roaster, or until it reaches 170°F on a thermometer stuck in the thickest part of the thigh and the juices run clear.


I got this whole chicken for $2.50 so I could not pass that up. I had no idea what I was going to do with it when I bought it but that is how a lot of my best meals start.


I got some root veggies to roast in the pan with the bird.

I am not going to make any assumptions on skill level here and inform you that there are giblets in these birds and you should remove them before cooking.


You can use the giblets for gravy later OR you can feed them to your dog. I chose the latter.


I trimmed away the excess skin around the neck also.


lemons


in they go! this could not be easier!


when I work with raw chicken I pour salt out to use so that I am not putting contaminated hands in my salt pig.


This is a secret ingredient from my childhood. We always had baked chicken with paprika on the outside.


nice and seasoned


I didn't have butchers twine to tie the legs but I had embroidery thread and it worked fine.


I used my mister to douse the bird in olive oil


I got the potatoes and cut them into pieces.


delicious garlic


Its not a shallot, amazing!! Just a regular yellow onion.


I added some carrots and got them in a bag.


I tossed them with some salt, pepper and olive oil.


I got them in the cast iron pan and sent the whole deal to the oven.


My handy meat thermometer verified it was ready to eat!


It turned out GREAT.


I went right for the wings and some dark meat.


the veggies were utterly delicious. I also ate a nice big piece of crispy chicken skin and enjoyed the heck out of it.


Look at those sweet, buttery garlic cloves. You better believe I ate those.

Stay tuned for ideas for the rest of the chicken!