Monday Roast Chicken

Monday Roast Chicken

     This week I roasted my first chicken, and it was so good I made it again a few days later. Even though I love the taste of a good roasted chicken as much as anyone, I had been hesitant to cook one myself. I hate to admit it but touching the raw chicken was what was holding me back. haha When the grocery store was out of most other kinds of chicken, I thought now is the perfect time to learn how to tackle this task. The only problem was it was a Monday afternoon and I had already picked up my weekly groceries. 

     I didn't have any of the fresh herbs, vegetables, or other ingredients most recipes called for. I looked up Ina Garten's trusted recipe, used her cooking time, and made my own mix of dairy free butter, dried herbs, and salt to put on top. The result was a very flavorful chicken that can easily be made any day of the week. I served it with mashed potatoes the first night and we used the leftovers for sandwiches, and even pizza toppings one night! If you have ever wanted to roast a chicken what better time to do it than when we all are spending a lot of time at home! 

Ingredients

1 (4-5 lb) roasting chicken

sea salt

2 TBSP melted butter or Miyoko's dairy free butter

1 tsp dried rosemary

1/2 tsp dried thyme


Directions

1) Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F

2) Remove the chicken giblets ( if they are present ) cut off any excess fat around and pat the chicken dry with a paper towel.

3) Place the chicken in a roasting pan or 9x13 pan ( I did not have a roasting pan so my glass pyrex worked just fine!) Tie the legs together with chicken string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken.

4) Melt the 2 TBSP of butter and brush or pour the butter over the chicken.

5) Sprinkle the chicken liberally with the salt and the 1 tsp of dried rosemary and 1/2 tsp dried thyme.

6) Roast the chicken for 1 1/2  hours, or until the temperature between the leg and the thigh is 165.

Important:At the hour mark use a large spoon to baste the chicken with the juices from the bottom of the pan. Repeat this step one more time before the chicken is done. This really helps to add flavor to the chicken, help it to brown, and keep it moist!

Enjoy!