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Sunday, October 3, 2010

Oven roasted chicken

I love to roast up a whole chicken on Sunday afternoons for a yummy home style dinner. I grab them when they are nice and cheap and keep a few on hand in the freezer for just such a day. This is great with creamy roasted zucchini rice as a side.

1 fryer/oven stuffer roaster/other name whole chicken- 3-5 lbs (thawed, washed, gut packet removed)
1 lemon
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 apple, peeled and chopped into small cubes
1 rib celery, sliced
1 TBSP olive oil
salt and pepper
1/4 tsp poultry seasoning

Place whole chicken in a roasting pan, breast side up. Using a knife, cut skin away from the meat above the breast, creating a pocket.

Use a vegetable peeler to remove the yellow peel from the outside of the lemon, avoiding the white. In small bowl, mix lemon peel, olive oil, salt and pepper, and 2 of the rosemary sprigs but into 1" chunks. Stuff into the pocket between the skin and the meat, using a toothpick to hold together if needed.

In the same bowl, add 1/4 tsp poultry seasoning, salt and pepper, apple, celery, and the juice from the lemon. Mix together, and stuff into the center cavity of the chicken. Stick the 2 remaining whole rosemary sprigs into cavity.  Use a toothpick to close cavity and keep stuffing in.

Roast chicken in a 325 degree oven until a thermometer reads at least 165 degrees (about 2-3 hours). Let stand for 15 minutes before carving.

VARIATION: This is also DELICIOUS if instead of lemon, apple, and rosemary you use orange, cranberries and fresh sage leaves.

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