Thursday, November 4, 2010

Roasted Chicken

I know that this is pretty basic, but until recently I had never roasted a chicken! If I knew how easy it is, I would have done it a lot sooner. I love to serve this as a main course with potatoes and veggies or just shred it up and use the chicken for lots of yummy recipes that call for pre-cooked chicken. That's what I did this time, and I'm so glad I did. It makes cooking dinner so much easier to already have the chicken cooked and ready to go!
(Those black spots are the pepper, not burning. If you don't like the way they look, leave out the pepper. I choose flavor over beauty.)

Roasted Chicken
Start with a thawed whole chicken

Preheat oven to 400
Take out any neck and any gizzard parts
Rinse chicken inside and out and pat dry
Rub skin with butter
Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper (I used lemon pepper)
Cook in roasting pan (or 9x13 cake pan) for 75-90 minutes or until meat thermometer reads 165 in thickest part. Mine was about 4.5 lbs and took about 85 minutes.
Enjoy!
*This is a very basic recipe. Feel free to jazz it up with the herbs and spices of your choice. I've even cooked it with a sliced lemon and onion stuffed in the cavity. I find that when I'm planning to use the chicken in other dishes, simple is best!

4 comments:

Stephanie said...

My good friend does this with free turkeys we get around here using our "reward points" in the grocery store. I have always thought it a genius plan! Did you find that this was a cheaper alternative to the frozen chicken breasts you get in a big bag at Costco?

Grandma Honey said...

Oh yes, I love roasted chicken. It's such a homey cozy feeling as it is roasting in the oven. And now that it's just the 2 of us, like you said, we can use the leftovers to make other things.

Heather said...

Don't forget to use the carcass to make chicken noodle soup!!! Yummy!!

Julie said...

Steph, that's a good question. I would guess that the price is about the same. I got a 4.5 lb chicken for about $4.00 and it gave me 5-6 cups of shredded chicken if that helps. I think the flavor is better when you cook the chicken with the bones and skin, but then there are extra steps involved.

Heather, do you have a good chicken noodle soup recipe you'd like to share? I've never made chicken noodle from scratch.