Sunday, March 06, 2011

What no roast chicken

So I stopped by the big box store on the way home for a roast chicken, actually I was going to get two so I could make a tasty chicken salad for lunch over the weekend, much to my dismay they were sold out.  WHAT the heck!!  Run to the back, pick up a roastable chicken and while waiting in line thinking hope it's not too hot to turn on the oven.

On the way home I remembered  a roast chicken I made  with some lemons stuffed inside.  Gotta go find that recipe.  FOUR YEARS AGO!!!  holy cow time flies.  It's nice to revisit some of our olders posts and this one especially I really like.  Before it gets too hot to turn on your oven make this chicken.  I know it's so easy to buy the roasted one at the market but trust me you'll be glad you did.

April 12, 2007 is the original post.
This has to be my favorite way to roast a chicken. It is a recipe adapted from a recipe from Giada DeLaurentis. This is a very rich tasting chicken that I served with roasted red potatoes and carrots.
I did place cleaned carrots on the bottom using them as a rack for the chicken and it's the lemons, garlic and oranges that you place in the cavity so don't skimp on that.


Garlic and Citrus Chicken
1(5 to 6-pound) whole roasting chicken, neck and giblets discarded I don't discard these little gems I cook them in some broth and use them at a later time
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 orange, quartered
1 lemon, quartered I used two lemons they were kind of small
1 head garlic, halved crosswise, plus 3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 (14-ounce) cans reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed  I used fresh juice
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano leaves I used thyme
Kitchen string or butcher twine didn't have any

Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.
Pat the chicken dry and sprinkle the cavity with salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity with the orange, lemon, and garlic halves. Tie the chicken legs together with kitchen string to help hold its shape. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. I rubbed a bit of butter and olive oil on the bird.Place a rack in a large roasting pan. Place the chicken, breast side up, on the rack in the pan. Roast the chicken for 1 hour, basting occasionally and adding some chicken broth to the pan, if necessary, to prevent the pan drippings from burning. Whisk the orange juice, lemon juice, oil, oregano, and chopped garlic in a medium bowl to blend. Brush some of the juice mixture over the chicken, after it has baked 1 hour. Continue roasting the chicken until an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the innermost part of the thigh registers 170 degrees F, basting occasionally with the juice mixture and adding broth to the pan, about 45 minutes longer. Transfer the chicken to a platter. Tent with foil while making the sauce (do not clean the pan).
Place the same roasting pan over medium-low heat. Whisk in any remaining broth and simmer until the sauce is reduced to 1 cup, stirring often, about 3 minutes. Strain into a 2-cup glass measuring cup and discard the solids. Spoon the fat from the top of the sauce.

Serve the chicken with the pan sauce.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great job on the chicken! I made this for Easter dinner this past weekend and it was sooo tasty!

barb said...

that's where I saw the picture - I knew I saw this somewhere and tried to remember.....thanks. I make this quite often and I may have even posted this before but it is so worth the repeat. The sauce is rich and tasty. Thanks Shawnda!!! and thanks for stopping by.....you have a great food blog.

maltese parakeet said...

i love the idea of using the drippings to make a quick sauce to make a simple roast yard bird a gourmet meal!

Deborah Eley De Bono said...

Yard bird, so meem, isn't it? Now that scientists have decided T.Rex is a distant cousin of the chicken, we should so more respect.

barb said...

so now I have to be politically correct when refering to yard bird.......HA!!!
It is LB it is just rich with flavor and I spose you you add a bit of cream while reducing said sauce.

East Coast-er Momma said...

looks and sounds delish. I NEED to do this recipe soon.

Roz | La Bella Vita Cucina said...

Hi Doodles, thanks for stopping by with your nice comment today! I love roasted chicken too and need to start making them at home since they are up to $6.99 now at the store and used to be $4.99! Ouch! Now happily following you back! Roz at La Bella Vita