Simple Roast Chicken

Roasting a chicken was one of the first recipes I attempted on my own.  Somehow I had managed to get myself into cooking for Christmas Dinner and let's just say the training wheels were taken off very quickly.  I don't mind admitting that I was absolutely terrified that I was going ruin Christmas by producing some sort of inedible chicken-esqe meal.  That didn't happen of course.  It didn't happen because as it turns out, roasting a chicken is quite simply one of the easiest recipes out there.  I've made several roast chickens since my x-mas experiment and found that I haven't ruined one yet.  Not only are they easy to make they are also super economical - you'll get several meals out of a 4lb chicken.  I also started making homemade chicken stock from the leftover bones because I have become a little weary of canned soup ever since I realized the insanely high sodium content in a lot of those pre-made soups. Also super easy to make.

I used Barefoot Contessa's roast chicken recipe as a guideline, just to make sure I have the timing and temperature correct.  But honestly you really don't need a recipe once you've made a roast chicken it's that simple.

Roast Chicken
Serves 6




















Ingredients:

1- 4lb chicken
1 lemon, quartered
1/2 head of garlic
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
olive oil

Method:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Remove any giblets.  Wash chicken in cold water and pat dry with paper towel. Liberally rub salt and pepper on the inside of the chicken.  Take full head of garlic and slice in half diagonally - place half inside chicken cavity along with the quartered lemon slices.  Brush olive oil on the outside of the chicken (don't forget the bottom).  Liberally sprinkle with freshly ground pepper and sea salt.  Tie the chicken's legs together with kitchen string so that they don't stick out and as best you can tuck the wings under the chicken - this will prevent burning.  Place chicken in a roasting pan and roast for an hour and 15 minutes.  Check to make sure it is done by making a slice with a sharp knife under the thigh - if the juices run clear then you're chicken is ready to be taken out of the oven.  Cover with tin foil until ready to eat.