The Hunts - Day 22

Whole Roasted Chicken - For some reason, it always takes me way longer to roast a chicken than I think it would, no matter what. Tonight was no exception. But, in the end, we all got to eat some, even if it came out after we started dinner.

I love roasted chicken for several reasons: a) it's easy to make; except for my timing always being off, b) it's so tasty, and c) LEFTOVERS!

This chicken was stuffed with a shallot, a carrot, a celery, a quarter of a lemon, 2 large garlic cloves, thyme and rosemary. It was a bit much, and I could barely get those little legs to close up. I also seasoned the cavity with salt & pepper before stuffing it. I opted not to do much with the outside, just salt & pepper.

I placed the chicken in a baking dish, covered it loosely with foil, and roasted it in the oven at 375 degrees F for 30 minutes, then turned up the heat to 425 degrees F for another 30 minutes with the foil off. That wasn't enough. It ended up needing more time with the foil on, and then off again; a total of 15-20 minutes. The problem was that I should have just cooked it at 425 degrees F for one hour, like my friend, Robin told me. But, I was trying to multi-task the oven space. I wanted to roast beets and sweet potatoes, but they roast at a lower temperature. Oh well, like I said, in the end we all ate some of it, and everyone was happy. And, it had a beautiful golden, crispy skin, while staying juicy inside. Thank you, Thundering Hooves for raising a lovely chicken!

We had roasted sweet potato, sauteed kale with carrots & onions, and brown rice with our chicken (er, uh, before the chicken).