Yesterday, I conquered what I now know to be a very silly fear. I roasted a chicken.
For some reason I had come to believe that this was a task best left to the experts. A whole chicken? What will I do with it? Will I have to pull anything disgusting out of the cavity? How the hell are you supposed to know when it's done?
I knew if I could figure out how to do it, roasting a chicken would be a frugal choice. A 3 1/2 lb. free-range bird costs about $12.00 and can produce a dinner for two, a lunch, and a soup if handled with prudence. Perhaps Obama's inspiring inaugural address gave me hope: After lunch I set out in the snow for the market. Walking down King Street with the bird in my bag, I caught sight of myself in a store window and felt a flood of joy. I didn't know how to articulate it ten years ago when I was just starting college, but when I looked ahead at what I hoped my life would be someday, I am now fairly certain that my wistful fantasy involved trudging through the snow in a bright-colored hat with a chicken I planned to roast for my husband. That's a pretty happy spot in one's day.
So, still believing I was attempting culinary rocket science, I cleared the afternoon and read through the instructions in a couple tried and true cookbooks. Alice Waters kept saying it was simple, but I knew she was obviously lying.
As she recommended, I salted the skin on the breast and back thoroughly and put it back in the fridge to rest for an hour or so. Then I let it come to room temperature for an hour before I put it in the oven. This helps ensure it will cook evenly. While I preheated the oven to 400 degrees, I cut a lemon into quarters for the cavity, shoved a little rosemary under the skin as directed, and put it in a greased pan the same size as the bird--in a large pan the juices will pool away from the bird and burn.
I put it in the oven for an hour, uncovered, breast up for twenty minutes, breast down for twenty minutes, and then breast up again to finish. And people--that's it. I paced back and forth in front of the oven, waiting for something to catch on fire or need basting, but nothing happened. After an hour I removed a beautiful brown masterpiece from the oven.
I would have taken a picture, but we promptly descended on it like dogs. Check back for Roast Chicken Day Two: Broth.
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I recently rediscovered roast chicken when I started buying them from a local farmer (though be careful--local chicken can really vary in quality--not all chickens are meant to be roasters.) I can't help but guild the lily by stuffing butter under the skin. I also break the rules by using a large pan. When there's about an hour left I add chunks of potato and carrot to cook in the buttery juices. Yum!
ReplyDeleteSo...
ReplyDeleteInspired by this post, I plan on doing this on Saturday.
Some questions:
1. Is there a reason you opted for a shorter roasting time than a longer one? (I see some instructions for an hour or so, others for several.
2. Did you cook carrots, potatoes, etc in the bottom of the pan?
3. Did you use a roasting pan w/ a rack? (Let me know, I am trying to decide if I should buy one).
4. Did you use white wine and de-glaze the bottom of the pan for a sauce for the chicken?
I think that's it :)
I did it!
ReplyDeleteI too shoved butter and herbs under the skin and that part of the chicken was unbelievable!
I also de-glazed the pan with some white wine and made a gravy/reduction which was out of this world. Definitely try that (it's also a good excuse to just open a bottle of white wine).