If you read my last post I not only introduced you to the easiest week day meal EVER, but I also gave you a glimpse of what I do outside of Vodka & Biscuits – so now, hopefully, when I mention Sascha you know who the heck I’m talking about.
Of her many talents, one of my favorites is listening to her talk on the radio. This lady has quite the reputation for talking on NPR about food. Not only does she give the best talk and food advice, she sparks your attention with her wit, always hilarious and often sexual. Let’s just say she refers to zucchini as a “loose” vegetable because there’s so many things you can do with it. That one is worth a listen.
Before she heads off to the station she proof reads to everyone in the office. Last week she was prepping for her “Corn and Zucchini” topic and as she was reading the various ways to prepare each vegetable / rattling off her recipes, she mentioned a roast chicken that is perfect for summer entertaining. As she continued to describe this chicken, Jane and I – who have been endlessly debating on what to bring to an upcoming dinner party – looked at each other with a raised brow. The summer chicken sounded perfect and we both instantly knew what to bring to the dinner party.
I of course can’t show up to a dinner party without testing out the recipe so this was my practice run. A practice run that needed no improvement. This whole roast chicken is simply delicious and by the end of this post you will know how to ensure a juicy chicken with a beautiful presentation and tricks to adapt your roast chicken to compliment the season you’re entertaining. Let’s get cookin’.
The Prep
When buying your chicken you want to look for a whole chicken, usually labeled Broiler, Fryer, or Roaster. The difference between the three is mainly their age, but they range from 2 1/2 to 5 lbs. Use your judgement on the size to buy based on how many people you are feeding and how big your roasting pan is. Always remember to leave room for other ingredients in the roasting pan, so if you’re unsure it won’t hurt to pick up one of those disposable aluminium pans for like $2. I was feeding a family of four so I bought a 3 1/2 lb. bird. There was plenty left over and I easily could have fed more people.
No matter the season you are entertaining in, there is nothing to compliment chicken like some fresh herbs, lemon, garlic, and Herbs de Provence. Since it’s summer, I used parsley, thyme, and rosemary from the garden. Herbs de Provence is a blend of aromatic dried herbs like fennel, thyme, rosemary, oregano, marjoram, basil, lavender, garlic, and lemon. I definitely recommend this blend, but you can easily substitute for Poultry seasoning or make a blend of your own!
The first thing to do is wash your chicken and clean the cavity of any extra guts (gizzard, neck, etc). Stay put, appetite. After that, season the cavity with salt and pepper and stuff with garlic cloves, lemon quarters, and herbs. From there the chicken gets trussed with cooking twine. I bought mine already trussed but you can find out how to do so here. The chicken gets placed on a bed of onions, crushed garlic cloves, and lemon, then gets seasoned with a generous amount of Herbs de Provence. Now it’s time to really get cookin’.
The Roast
What makes this a summer chicken is the addition of corn and tomatoes. I add these in about 30 minutes after the chicken has roasted with the onions at 425 degrees. Let me just say, cutting the cobbs can be a total pain. It’s easiest to get a head start with your knife then finish by breaking the cobb into thirds. For the tomatoes I picked up a colorful pack of cherry, yellow, green, and orange. You’ll find those everywhere this time of year!
If you’re making this dish in fall or winter, follow the same concept except lay the chicken over a bed of onions, fennel, parsnips, carrots, and celery. Half way through add wedges of potato!
I also gave the chicken and vegetables a flavorful baste of my favorite maitre de butter, simply a butter creamed with herbs, lemon, and pepper. Read all about it here! If you want to keep this a dairy-free meal, just baste with some olive oil. This will roast for another 30 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked.
My favorite gadget of all time is my meat thermometer with a stainless steel probe. It’s here when I stick the probe in the dark meat (thighs or legs), set the temp for 170 (I like the dark meat to hit at least 170 and white meat 165), and go about my business until my temperature alarm goes off. This thing is life changing especially for those who like to grill and smoke. Check it here!
The Presentation
You’ll know when your chicken is ready by the crowd of hungry people hanging out in the kitchen. Nothing beats the smell of an oven roast chicken complimented by an aroma of garlic, herbs, and lemon. SALIVATING.
To present this lay the whole chicken over a bed of arugula surrounded by the tomatoes, corn, and roasted lemon wedges, or you can cut it up and present it the same way (learn how to slice and dice here). Don’t forget to garnish with fresh parsley! All the juices and onions left over in the pan that don’t get plattered can be placed in a bowl and used as a smear on French bread. To die for.
However you serve it, your family might joke about your meal looking like it came straight off a Martha Stewart 1999 magazine cover, but soon beg for your forgiveness because they just ate the most juiciest and tender chicken ever (please note the most juiciest and tender chicken ever in the above photo). The corn and tomatoes taste like it’s been roasted in a buttery herbed bath with chicken. Let’s face it, I’ll eat anything that’s been in a buttery herbed bath. Enjoy!
- 3 1/2 lb. whole chicken
- 10 garlic cloves
- 1 onion - cut into 2" pieces
- 1 lemon - cut into quarters
- 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 3 parsley stems with leaves attached
- 1 sprig of fresh rosemary
- salt and pepper as needed
- Herbs de Provence as needed
- 1 T. olive oil
- 1/4 c. chicken stock.
- 3 ears of corn, cut into thirds
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, preferably assorted
- 3 T. melted maitre d butter or olive oil (see notes below)
- Cooking Twine
- Preheat the oven to 425
- Prep the chicken by washing and removing any "guts" from the cavity. Dry the chicken.
- Season the cavity with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity with five garlic cloves, the fresh herbs, and 2 lemon quarters. Truss with twine (see post for link to video).
- Arrange the onions in a large roasting pan. Crush the remaining garlic cloves and add to the onions. Add the chicken over top, breast side up. Drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oil over both the vegetables and chicken, rubbing to coat the entire chicken.
- Sprinkle Herbs de Provence to season, making sure to season the back side of the chicken. Add the chicken stock.
- Roast for 30 minutes uncovered. Remove from the oven, toss in the tomatoes and cobb pieces. Baste the chicken with the melted butter then drizzle remaining butter over vegetables. If you want to add in more onions, add them too!
- Roast for another 30-35 minutes until the dark meat reaches 170-175 and the white reaches 165, or until juices run clear.
- IF your corn is not cooked all the way, remove chicken and continue to roast corn until finished.
- For maitre d butter, cream a stick of butter with a handful of chopped herbs (parsley, basil, etc.), a squeeze of lemon juice, and pepper. Taste for season! Add to plastic wrap, roll into a log, and freeze until needed.
- The white pieces are the breasts and wings, the dark is the thigh and legs.
