Nov 20, 2008

Roasting a Chicken

Chicken is a relatively cheap source of protein. Many buy roasted chickens from supermarkets or national chains such as Boston Market, but if you roast it yourself you’ll pay a lot less and probably get more, as most store bought are tiny. This recipe is so easy, you’ll wonder why you ever paid more.

Ingredients:
1 Whole chicken
½ Lemon
3 gloves of Garlic
2 T oil (olive oil or melted butter)
1 T dried spice (thyme, sage, etc.)
Salt and Pepper

Preparation:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Mix salt, pepper, and dried spices in a small bowl.

While the oven is heating, wash the entire chicken (inside and out) under cold running water. Be sure to remove the package containing necks and gizzards that may be inside the cavity of the chicken.

Once washed, pat the outside of the chicken dry with paper towels.

Rub and squeeze the half of lemon over the outside and inside of the chicken (Do not discard).

Rub oil over the outside of the chicken.

Rub this spice mixture over outside and inside of chicken.

Place the spent lemon and garlic cloves inside the chicken.

Before placing the chicken in the oven, the chicken must be raised from the bottom of your roasting pan/dish (ensures crispy skin). This is usually accomplished via a roasting rack. If you do not have a rack you can use aluminum foil. Simple tear off a piece of foil approximately 1 foot long. Roll the foil into a cylinder. Then curve the cylinder into a ring (think donut or bagel shape). Place this aluminum ring in the bottom of the roasting pan. Place chicken on top of the ring. And place in the oven.
Roast the chicken at 400 degrees until an internal temperature of 165 degrees is obtained. This will take approximately 45 minutes for a 3.5lb bird. If you don’t have a meat thermometer, buy one. If you refuse to buy one, make a small incision at the joint between the thigh and the bird to be sure that all juices run clear.

So let’s do the math. A 3.5lb chicken cost $5.92 at Safeway. You may be able to get a better price. See the previous on cutting your grocery bill in half. The additional ingredients should be less than $0.50. So this totals $6.42 and should easily make 4-5 servings.

That’s it. We’ll talk about making gravy in another post. Enjoy. Sphere: Related Content

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