Nothing could be more simple or more elegant than a roasted chicken served with a nice salad and some white wine.
Basic roasted chicken
- Preheat your oven to 450 degrees
- Begin with a whole roasting chicken, about 3-4 lbs.
- Remove any giblets (often found packed in a paper bag inside the body cavity, you will not be using these)
- Rinse the bird under cold water and pat dry with a kitchen towel or paper towels
- Salt and pepper the chicken inside and out
- Place the chicken on a rack in a shallow roasting pan and place in the oven
- Cook your chicken for about 45 to 55 minutes until the juices run clear. There is no need to baste the bird. You should have a nice brown skin on your chicken. Let is rest out of the oven for about 15 minutes. This allows the cooking to continue and will result in juicier meat. Remove the legs, thighs, and wings. Carve the breast meat and serve along side the dark meat.
Chicken with rich gravy
- Nothing says “Sunday supper” quite like a slowly roasted chicken and rich chicken gravy. Serve with homemade mashed potatoes and a salad for a soul satisfying meal.
- Preheat your oven to 450 degrees
- Remove the giblets (found packed in the body cavity) from 3-4 lbs roasting chicken
- Rinse the chicken and pat it dry using a kitchen towel or paper towels
- Brush the outside of the chicken with melted butter
- Rub poultry seasoning (found in the spice isle of most grocery stores) on the outside of the bird
- Cut a large onion, a few carrots, and a few stalks of celery into large chunks and place around the bird in a roasting pan
- Roast the chicken for about 45-55 minutes, basting it about every 20 minutes with the juices in the pan. When the chicken is fully cooked, remove it from the roasting pan and set it on a platter to rest for carving. Place the roasting pan on top of your stove and remove the roasted vegetables. Add a chicken bouillon cube. Whisk a tablespoon of all purpose flour into a cup of water and add it to the pan. Whisk the gravy over a medium heat until it thickens. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve the gravy along side the carved meat.
Roasted chicken salad
- The best way to use leftover roasted chicken is in a simple chicken salad.
- One cup diced cooked chicken
- One stalk of celery chopped fine
- One tablespoon sweet relish
- Mayonnaise
- Salt and pepper
- Mix the chicken, celery, and relish with enough mayonnaise to create a moist salad. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve on toasted rye bread.
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