3 days ago, one of my colleagues came to work raving about the chicken she made for dinner the night before. And she's continued to mention the chicken at least 2 or 3 times a day since. It sounded so wonderful, and I've heard so much about it, that I finally asked for the recipe. She told me that she got the recipe from the New York Times , and when I found the recipe and connected article, I was even more convinced that this was the roast chicken for me.
I've never successfully made a roast chicken. Last year on Valentines Day, I tried to make one for a special dinner. I made a delicious compound butter with garlic and herbs that I rubbed under the skin. I stuffed it with lemons, garlic and herbs. And I roasted it for almost 2 hours. It was still very under cooked. Another hour, and it was STILL under cooked. Finally we gave up on a raw roast chicken dinner and got takeout.
This one sounds perfect: no basting, no changing oven temperature during cooking, very easy prep. Plus, it cooks on bread, which absorbs all the drippings and juices and will end up like one giant, stuffing flavored crouton.
The Ingredients:
Sturdy bread (preferably stale) sliced ½ inch thick (I used multi grain bread)
1 tbsp olive oil, more as needed
2 tsp kosher slat, more as needed
½ tsp freshly ground pepper, more as needed
1 4-5 lb chicken, patted dry
1 garlic head, sliced in half horizontally, through the cloves
1 bay leaf
½ bunch thyme sprigs
½ lemon
The Directions:
-Preheat oven to 425°F. Lay bread slices in a metal roasting pan, in one layer. (I don't have a metal roasting pan, so I used my big Pyrex pan.) Drizzle liberally with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
-Rub 1 tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper inside cavity of chicken. Stuff cavity with garlic, lemon, bay and thyme. Rub outside of chicken with 1 tbsp olive oil and sprinkle all over with remaining salt and pepper. Place breast side up on bread.
-Roast chicken until deeply browned and juices run clear, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before carving. Serve with bread from pan.
This was truly amazing. It was so easy, and came out perfectly! The skin was crispy and flavorful, the meat was juicy and lightly flavored by the thyme, lemon, and garlic. And the bread was amazing! Crispy, but moist, full of the flavors of chicken, olive oil, lemon, garlic and thyme. I served the chicken with glazed carrots and creamed spinach for dinner. And the next day, I made a salad with veggies, pieces of chicken pulled off the bones, and croutons of the yummy crisp bread. I think this is going to become a new household favorite - the hands on time of making this is so quick, maybe 10 minutes of prep, and it can be incorporated into many meals and leftovers!
