Ahhh, the Sunday roast dinner. A tradition that I feel is lost in American households. The Brits however, well, its sacrilege not to. I attempted to make a tossed salad with a roasted chicken one Sunday and Hubs was almost booking his trip back on the Queen Mary. You can go really extravagant if you have guests and jazz up your side dishes like its a holiday, but this is just a simple roast dinner. There is always a big hunk of meat of some sort, potatoes (must be roasted) and veggies. Here is this Sunday's roast:1 Chicken chop off head and neck, wing tips, bottom quarter of legs (including feet), pull out all the insides and discard or make a stock with all that except for the liver (it will make your stock bitter) HA! Just kidding, I get cleaned chickens (once I did pick up a chicken I had to do all that to -it was a Buddhist chicken I had picked up in Chinatown...it was awful yet carnal at the same time) Anyway...wash the bird inside and out and dry it off.
1 large Idaho russet potato per person washed, peeled, cut into pieces as you like them (there are two sizes in my house large -cut into three pieces for the Hubs and small cut into 6-8 pieces for me.
A bunch of carrots peeled and cut into pieces you like, I do a bias cut to keep it interesting. Maybe you like circles, or sticks..
A bunch of asparagus trimmed. (Take one stalk bend it until it breaks, cut the rest to the same height and discard the bottoms)
4 cloves garlic
3/4 TSP dried Rosemary
3/4 TSP dried Oregano
3/4 TSP dried Thyme
1/8 TSP garlic powder
3/4 TSP Salt
1/4 TSP Pepper
EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
Chicken Stock
If you have fresh herbs, by all means, use them but use BUNCHES of them and not TSPs. My chicken flavorings are always different, this just happens to be today's whim.
Preheat oven to 350*
Place potatoes in a pot and cover with cold water. Place pot over high heat and bring to a boil, once at the boil, boil for about 5 minutes and while this is happening....
In a small bowl, combine 1/2 TSPs of the following: Rosemary, Oregano, Thyme & Salt.
Add 1/8 TSP pepper (its really to taste)
Press the garlic into this mixture.
Add EVOO, combining until you have a nice pastyish mixture
In a large bowl, combine 1/4 TSPS of: Rosemary, Oregano, Thyme & Salt.
Add 1/8 TSP pepper (again, to taste)
Add Garlic powder
Add EVOO to a consistency of salad dressing.
Grab that chicken and get ready to get dirty with it. Gently work your fingers under the skin of the breast to free it up and make a pocket. You might tear the skin, I've done it, it will happen at some time in your roast chicken making life, its really not the biggest deal just try to be careful.
Once you've separated the skin from the flesh, start rubbing the mixture from the first bowl inside the skin, covering as much flesh as you can. Take anything left and rub it all around the outside of the skin.
Place that birdie in a pan. Tie the legs together with butcher's twine and tuck the wings behind the body like that bird is lounging. Pop in your temperature probe (WHOA!!! What's that?!?! Get to the end, I'll explain then)
Place bird in oven.
Drain those potatoes. Was that longer than 5 minutes of a boil? Its ok, its no big deal, you'll get quicker at it, nothing is ruined.
Toss the potatoes with the second bowl's mixture and pour all that into a roasting pan that will fit the potatoes.
Place potatoes in the oven.
Now I'm not one for timing. This particular chicken took about an hour and 15 minutes to get to temperature...here is where the temperature probe comes in. I own one. It is one of the most valuable tools in my arsenal. i never have dried out or raw meat. I am happy about that. I can always work my veggies around, but ruined meat is ruined meat and you don't want to keep piercing meat to see if its done, you dry it out that way. Buy a temperature probe. You set it and it does all the thinking for you. You glance at how its doing in there and you work around your meat. There's a pic at the very end of the one I have. INVALUABLE.
I digress:
Keep your eyes on the the potatoes and toss them around from time to time to get an even brown. If you find your chicken isn't close to ready and your potatoes are getting close, just pull them out and put them aside. When your chicken is done you can pop them back in the oven to reheat while the bird rests and you carve it. All so forgiving...
When your bird reaches temperature, take it out of the oven and tent with foil. Let it rest for 20 minutes.
Put the stock over a medium heat and wait for it to boil.
Throw the carrots and asparagus in the stock, cover and carve your bird. By the time you're done carving, the veggies should be ready (don't let it go more than 5 minutes.)
Serve.
Oh and the best way to carve a bird: just google "how to carve a chicken/turkey"
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