I have been in the planning stages for a couple of months now for recipes that start somewhere and can take you to many more follow up recipes. Roasting a chicken is one of the most simple recipes that you can make. It is also very versatile in the flavors that you can put in and on it. I like to keep it simple with butter, garlic, rosemary, salt, pepper, and sometimes lemon. Since we will be building flavors with the recipes that follow this one then I suggest keeping it simple.
Whole chickens are not the most appealing thing to work with… trust me it has taken me years to be able to do this dish all on my own, but if you can numb your mind a bit to the slimy skin then you can push through and have a divine roasted chicken in less than an hour.
Since it is usually just my husband and I eating dinner(the kids are rather picky) then I get a 4 pound or so chicken from the grocery store. Remove the chicken from its package and remove any “gizzards” that may be inside. I also like to trim some of the extra skin that is around the edges.
To season the chicken I take a stick of softened butter and add salt, pepper, chopped rosemary or thyme, and chopped garlic. Mash all of this together and get ready to rub down your chicken. Another way to impart some flavor is to quarter an onion and a lemon and stuff them inside the chicken. What you will want to do is run your finger between the skin and the meat to create little pockets. This is where you will stuff in the butter mixture. Take a glob of the butter and push it all over the chicken in the little pockets that you created, smooshing it around to cover the whole area of the chicken meat. This will give you flavor and seasonings right on the meat and the butter will help the skin crisp up nicely.
Tip for Roasting a Chicken Faster:
My best tip for roasting a chicken faster is to cut out the backbone of the chicken so that you can lay it flat on a sheet pan.
You can do this recipe with olive oil if you need it to be dairy free. I wound up cooking my chicken at 375° for about 45 minutes. Use a meat thermometer to check and make sure that the meat is cooked until 165°. It will all depend upon how big your chicken is as to how long it will need to be cooked. The meat will be seasoned beautifully, moist, and yummy. We wound up just eating the thighs and wings part of the chicken so that I could save the breast meat for another recipe. Make sure that you save the bones, because our next recipe will need the bones!!
Roasting a chicken is an easy way to get dinner on the table and doesn’t take a lot of skill in the kitchen. It is versatile in that you could use a variety of seasonings. I love a good Cajun seasoned chicken. After roasting a chicken you will feel like a pro and have a delicious dinner that your whole family will love. My kids even tried some of the meat! Score one for mom!
What is your favorite flavor to have on your roasted chicken? Do you have any tips to share on how you cook it?
Ingredients
- Small Whole Chicken
- Stick of Butter Softened
- Salt and Pepper
- 1 T Rosemary chopped
- 2 tsp Thyme chopped
- 1 clove Garlic chopped
Instructions
- Trim excess skin from the chicken and discard the gizzards. For faster cooking time, remove the backbone and split the chicken so it lays flat. Place on baking sheet.
- Make pockets with your finger between the chicken skin and meat.
- Combine butter and seasonings in a small bowl.
- Push the butter mixture between the skin and meat in the pockets you created.
- Roast the chicken at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees.
- Save the bones to make your own broth.
Yum!