Herb & Garlic Roasted Chicken

Photo Credit

I've mentioned before that my wonderful husband despises chicken.  Well, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration.  He would just about eat any other meat than chicken, though.  I have found a few chicken recipes that I can sneak by his radar, like my Crispy Fried Chicken Strips and White Chicken Chili.

But sometimes, you just want to have a nice chicken dinner, right?  Picture this (as I don't have a picture to post...yet :( but I found this one for ya), a beautifully roasted chicken, skin browned perfectly, tender and moist meat all throughout...  Yes Virginia, there is a Santa way to roast a perfect chicken.  And here it is:

Oh by the way, I double this recipe and use it for my TURKEY, too.  And did I mention that the drippings make the best gravy you've ever had?  No?  Oh... it does.  You gotta try it.

 

Herb & Garlic Roasted Chicken

• 1 roasting chicken
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 T red wine vinegar
• 1-1/2 t minced garlic
• 1-1/2 t dried thyme
• 1 t salt
• 1/2 t pepper
• 1 carrot, peeled and cut in half
• 1 stalk of celery, cut in half
• 1/2 onion, cut in half

1. Rinse chicken.  Pat dry.
2. Mix together olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, thyme, sale and pepper.
3. With your hand, gently loosen skin from breast meat.  Pour about 1/2 of the oil/vinegar mixture into the area between meat and skin and rub it to cover the meat.  With the remaining 1/2, pour into the cavity and rub to cover.
4. Place carrot, celery and onion into cavity.

NOTE:  At this point you can put the chicken into a 1 gallon Ziplock bag and place into the freezer to be made at a later date.

1. Place chicken into roasting pan, breast side DOWN.  Do not add water to the bottom of pan.
2. Roast uncovered at 325° for about 1-1/2 hours.  Flip chicken over so breast side is up to brown skin.  Return to over for additional 20-30 minutes.  At this time, you can add a small amount of water to the bottom of the pan if you'd like to help loosen dripping for gravy.
3. Chicken is done when internal temp reaches 180°, although my favorite way to test for doneness is when the leg or wing easily are removed (really just fall off) when you gently pull on it.
4. Place chicken on serving platter and cover with foil, allowing to rest for 10-20 minutes.

To make gravy:

• water
• arrowroot or cornstarch

1. Deglaze pan by pouring 2 C water into the pan.  Using a silicone spatula or whisk, gently stir to remove browned bits from bottom of pan.  Pour drippings into measuring cup to determine how much broth you have and to remove most of the fat that is floating at the top.  Pour into kettle and heat back to boiling.
2. Follow the directions on your arrowroot or cornstarch for amount to use for the number of cups of gravy you are making, being sure to first mix arrowroot/cornstarch in about 1/4 C  cool water.  This will keep your gravy from being lumpy.  Lumpy not good.
3. Stir arrowroot/cornstrach mixture into heated broth, stiring with a wisk until your gravy for about 1 minute.