I love cooking a whole roasted chicken. It makes me feel very Martha Stewart. This baby was on sale for $3.66. We had dinner, then I made chicken salad with the leftovers and the bones are in a ziplock in the freezer, waiting to be made into stock this weekend. You can’t beat that!
The key to perfect roast chicken is allowing it to slowly crisp and cook. This is so simple but as you can see by the color of the pan juices, the flavor is deep and amazing! The onions are so sweet from carmelizing and cooking so long and they take on the flavor of the chicken pan juices. The pan gravy is thin (add more flour if you want a thicker gravy) but with great flavor. I highly recommend serving this with Mashed Potatoes. Comfort food for sure!
- (1) 4-5 Pound whole chicken
- 1 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 2 Carrots, peeled and sliced into 2 inch pieces
- 3 Large Onions, 1 cut into quarters, the other 2 cut into large slices
- 4 Cloves of Garlic
- 2 Sprigs of Rosemary
- 2 Sprigs of Thyme
- Chicken Broth
- ½ Cup White Wine (optional)
- 1 Tbsp Flour
- Spray a roasting pan.
- Heat oven to 375.
- Wash chicken inside and out, pat dry. Season inside of chicken with salt and pepper.
- Stuff the onion quarters inside the chicken. Add the rosemary and thyme inside the chicken. Tie up the chicken with twine for even cooking.
- Place 4 of the onion slices on the pan, so that the chicken will rest on them.
- Place the chicken on top of the onions. Add the rest of the onions, carrots and garlic to the pan.
- Season the veg and chicken all over with salt and pepper.
- Melt the butter and brush the chicken all over with the butter.
- Cover the chicken with foil.
- Add the chicken to the oven and cook for 45 minutes. Take the chicken out, add 1 cup of chicken broth to the pan and remove foil. (Check pan at 30 minutes and add the stock then if it looks like the bottom may be starting to burn.)
- Cook chicken for another hour or more until it is done. During this time, take it out every 15 minutes or so and baste with the pan juices. If using the wine, add the wine to the pan after chicken has been in the oven for 90 minutes. Add more broth if needed.
- Chicken is done when you are able to easily move the drumstick and juices run clear.
- When chicken is done, move to a cutting board, cover with foil and allow it to rest at least 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, reserve the veg for serving.
- Scrape any remaining brown bits to mix into pan juices. Pour pan juices into a cup and skim the fat, reserving 1 Tbsp of fat.
- To a small saucepan heated on low, add 1 Tbsp of the fat with 1 Tbsp of the flour. Mix well, for one minute. Slowly add the pan juices, mixing well. Season with salt & pepper.
- Serve the roasted chicken with the reserved veg and pan gravy.