Roasted Chicken

Whether you are a novice or more experienced cook this is a great recipe that can be altered to your personal taste. It came to me one day when I was thinking about things I have not made, or ideas that I have not tried. Thanksgiving was coming and I realized that the idea of cooking a turkey was daunting, but idea of roasting a whole chicken was less intimidating to me. I decided that it couldn't REALLY be that hard and I would give it a try. Honestly, it wasn't hard and actually came out looking BEAUTIFUL and tasting great. I served it with mashed potatoes and green beans. Yum! Even my hard to please husband couldn't argue that it was good, because I made chicken gravy to go over the mashed potatoes :) So, here is how I did it!

I washed my chicken inside and out, took everything out of the cavity (this one had the neck and gizzard inside) and then patted it dry with a paper towel. Then I placed it in the Demarle Large Round Mold. (with the Demarle the cleanup was ridiculously easy:)

I mixed 4 TBLS melted butter with 1 TBLS Demarle in the Kitchen Roasted Garlic and Chive Herb Blend and using my pastry brush I spread it over every part of the chicken. It was kind of fun!

Note: you can use any blend of herbs, a lemon pepper would be good, or crushed thyme, your imagination is the only limit.

 Then I put it in a 375 degree, preheated oven and let it cook for about 1 1/2 hours before checking it. You can also insert an "oven proof meat thermometer so the tip in the thickest part of the inside thigh muscle and does not touch the bone" (from Betty Crocker). Or you can do what I did, which was to let it cook and then when it was close to the time for it to be done I checked it with the thermometer.

Cook the bird till the thermometer reads 180 degrees F. and the juice is no longer pink when you cut into the center of the thigh. Let it "rest" for 15 minutes, as you can see from my thermometer the meat continued to cook and go up a few degrees while resting.

I have to say, this is one of the easiest meats I have done and at $0.98 per lb. it can't be beat for price. It served the four of us for dinner and there was enough for my husband and I for lunch the next day. It came out beautifully browned and was just as delicious as it looked. I saw another recipe that had roasted potatoes with it and I think I may try that the next time I roast a chicken :)