Bensonhurst Kitchen: Herb Roasted Chicken
Walk into any supermarket and you’ll see pre-cooked rotisserie chickens lined up in neat little plastic domes like some kind of dystopian shrine to deceased poultry.
If you’re going to be a real home cook, the first thing one must realize is that these ready-to-eat birds, while convenient, are wholly unnecessary.
Yes, sometimes if you want to say, make some nice chicken enchiladas and don’t happen to have any chicken on hand it’s fine. But at the same time, there’s no reason not to learn how to make a really good, really moist, crispy skinned chicken you’d never be able to buy in even the best supermarkets. And the leftovers, there’s just so much you can do with the leftovers. Did I happen to mention that it’s cheaper too?
This week on Bensonhurst Kitchen, Colleen shows that a preparing whole roast chicken at home is a whole lot less complicated than you thought.
Enjoy!
Ingredients:
1 3-4 pound whole chicken
1 lemon, quartered
1 medium onion, quartered
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
4 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons fresh sage, chopped
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped
2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees
Remove the giblets from the inside of the chicken.
Wash the chicken with cold water, inside and out.
Dry the outside skin of the chicken with a paper towel. No water should be
left on the skin.
Stuff the chicken with lemon, onion and garlic.
In a bowl combine sage, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper. Add canola oil.
Rub the herb and oil mixture all over the chicken making sure to use all
the mixture.
Place the chicken in an oven safe dish.
Roast the chicken for approximately 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes.
The skin should be golden brown and the juices will run clear when cut.
Allow the chicken to rest for 15-20 minutes before cutting.
TIPS:
Fresh herbs are always more flavorful but not necessary for a fantastic
tasting chicken. You can substitute the fresh herbs with dry herbs.
You can give your roasted chicken a slightly different taste by changing up
what you stuff it with. Almost anything is fair game, try an apple for a
sweeter taste or an orange for a different citrus taste. The possibilities
are endless!
Recipe and tips by Colleen
