How to Roast a Whole Chicken

This is one of those recipes to know by heart. Roast chicken emanates home and comfort. A whole bird is a blank canvas for flavor but there is no need to over complicate a pasture raised chicken. Simple ingredients, that you probably already have, bring out the natural flavor a quality chicken.

Find a Farmer

My husband and I moved into our new home in northern Illinois May of 2017. Mid-June, we were feeling settled and I decided to explore the area and the farms that surrounded us. What I didn’t know at the time is that mid June is around the time the first round of broiler chickens are processed. I wandered into the quaint, farm store of All Grass Farms, in East Dundee, and happily scooped up a fresh chicken. When my husband took that first bite, I witnessed the look on his face and I knew right away he was impressed. He has had chicken in his life probably a million times, but not a pasture raised one. “I’ve never had a chicken taste so much like a chicken,” he told me. My grandma, who is much like Marie from Everybody Loves Raymond, (If you know, you know), even said that this was the best roast chicken she ever tasted.

When I was looking for a quality bird, I seeked out answers to these questions:

1. Are the chickens raised on pasture? (You want the answer to be yes!)
2. What is their diet supplemented with? (Organic, some farms even offer soy free)
3. When are they harvested? (If a farm is offering fresh chickens in the dead of winter, that is a red flag to me)

Prep Your Bird

If you feel weird about touching raw meat this is a great time to get over it. If the bird is frozen, I prefer to leave it wrapped, in a bowl, in the fridge. It takes about 3 days for it to fully thaw. No need to rinse the bird, it’s a waste of time and energy. Before you start handling the chicken, put salt in a bowl. Remove the innards of your bird if the farm leaves them in. I usually feed everything to my dogs. Next, pat the bird dry. Then, liberally salt the chicken all over, getting your fingers underneath the skin and in the cavity. Try your best to not tear the skin. Then, put the chicken in a dish and put in the refrigerator uncovered, overnight. Salting your chicken overnight will result in a far tastier, juicer chicken with crispy skin.

Day Of

30 minutes before you want to start roasting your chicken, remove it from the fridge. Doing this will help it cook more evenly. In the mean time, grab a Extra virgin olive oil“>Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Next, place a lemon with a few slits in it, onion and herbs in the cavity of the chicken. While roasting, the aromatics will permeate the chicken and veggies and the lemon will burst.

Place the chicken on top of the veggies, breast side down. No need to tie the chicken up, just tuck the wings under. I never tie my chickens and they are always perfectly cooked. Roast for an hour and a half on 425F. Baste the chicken with the residual juices every 30 minutes. Press the lemon to encourage it to burst. I like to rotate the braiser at least once in the oven to ensure even cooking.

Resting your chicken after cooking is very important to ensure the juices redistribute. Cutting into a chicken to soon will result in a dry, disappointing piece of meat. Now that the bird is resting, add the cooked quinoa to the veggies for a quick side dish. Once carved, I immedietly place the carcass in a large pot of water to make broth. This is the kind of cooking I feel good about. No waste, simple and absolutely delicious.

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