How to Roast a Chicken

I know plenty of people are scared of whole birds. I don't, however, know why. They are simple & easy to roast. Let me show you the most simple roasting plan I can...

Take 1 whole bird, chopped celery, chopped carrots, 1/2 a chopped onion, 1 tbs salt, 1 tbsp pepper, 1 tbsp onion salt, 1.5 tbsp fresh garlic, & 1/2 cup of butter (I used non-dairy butter, you could use margarine, but butter is always better).

I like to put the chicken on a plate, in the sink, for ease of clean up. This can get messy.

Clean out the cavity of the bird. If you're buying from a grocery store, there's usually just a little bag to pull out, they've done the work for you. Most non-store bought birds (ie local farm birds or organic birds from your grocery/specialty store) you'll have to feel around & remove the giblets & kidneys.

*If you bought a yellow-ish bird (most grocery store birds are yellow-ish, with a really thick skin), I recommend soaking it in a salt water bath for about 10 minutes, then scrubbing it inside & out with salt & thoroughly rinsing it.

Once you have a clean bird, run your hand under the skin on the breast & thighs. Try not to rip the skin (as I did on this one), but try to loosen as much of it as possible. Then, rub the garlic, salt, pepper, onion powder & half of the butter under the skin, everywhere you can reach (todl you this would get messy!). Next, rub all the remaining seasonings & butter all over the cavity & outside of the bird (top, bottom, & sides!). Then, completely stuff the cavity with the carrots, celery, & onion.

Some people truss (tie) the bird, some people don't. If the cavity is stuffed full & you have something to tie it off with, go ahead & truss it. I didn't have any twine, so I used cheesecloth to improvise. It worked really well, so there's an idea if you need one. (Just make sure you using something heat & food safe to truss the bird with if you're improvising, please.)

Put the bird on a rack, breast side up, in a roasting pan & stick it in a pre-heated oven.

Bake at 350* until done. A 3 lb bird takes about 1 hour 15 minutes to cook completely. ((NOTE: your roasting time is going to depend on the weight of the bird - cook to an internal temp of 165, the heat will produce carry-over cooking that will get you past 170 before it's all said & done)).

Every 20 minutes, take a baster or a brush (or, a spoon if it's all you got!), and pour the juices back over the bird.

Here's my super secret trick, it helps add the moisture & keeps from over-browning the skin: after the 2nd basting, I flip the bird upside down for 15 minutes & then flip it back over & baste again.

Now, look at this GOLDEN bird.

To finish it off, take this pan of juices...

add flour, a little chicken stock, & some milk. I couldn't tell you the measurements, I truly just guess. Just add enough flour that it's as thick as you like it & enough milk that it's as creamy as you like.

You'll have this when you're done:

How's this for a perfect lazy-day lunch (or dinner)? Mashed 'taters, corn, green beans, carrots, roast chicken & pan gravy. Dig in! -But give the bird at least 15 min to rest before you carve it, please.