Whole Roasted Chicken

Wow, it’s been quite awhile!  Truth of the matter is I haven’t cooked or tried anything worthwhile lately so there wasn’t much to write about.  I’m trying to remedy that, not only for new blog ideas but to get my family out of the rut we’re in of eating the same things every week. 

I started with something fairly basic, a whole roasted chicken, but it was new to me since I had never made one before.  This recipe includes a whole garlic bulb and lemon and oranges (I used clementines), and I served it with a side of sauteed broccoli rabe and garlic.

Roasted Chicken

1 whole roasting chicken, 7-8 lb, neck and giblets removed (serves about 6-7)

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 clementines, quartered

1 lemon, quartered

1 garlic bulb, cut in half

16 to 32 oz low sodium chicken broth

1/3 cup orange juice

1 lemon, freshly squeezed

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp oregano

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  After removing the neck and giblets from the chicken, rinse and pat dry with paper towels.  Place a rack in a large roasting pan and place the chicken on the rack breast side up.

Place the quartered lemon and clementines and the garlic bulb in the cavity of the bird.  Season the chicken with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

 

Create a juice mixture to baste the chicken with:  Whisk together the orange juice, freshly squeezed lemon juice, oil, oregano and chopped garlic in a medium bowl.    After the chicken has baked  for 1 hour, brush some of the juice mixture over it.

Reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue roasting at least another hour.  Baste occasionally (be aware though that each time you open the oven to baste, you are letting heat escape from your oven.  That’s why my time is approximate; you’ll need a meat thermometer to be sure the chicken is done cooking), and add broth to the bottom of the pan as needed.   Do not use the pop-up thermometer the chicken may have come with; use an meat thermometer inserted into the innermost part of the thigh.  Cook until the temperature of the chicken reaches 170 degrees.

Transfer to a platter and cover with aluminum foil.  To create a pan sauce to serve with the chicken, place the same roasting pan over low heat.  Whisk any remaining broth and simmer until the sauce is reduced, about 3-5 minutes.  Strain it into a bowl or serving cup and discard any solid pieces.   

Remove the stuffing before serving.  This chicken was very moist and flavorful and I served it with a side of sauteed broccoli rabe; roasted potatoes or other green vegetables would have worked nicely also as would a rice or cous-cous dish.