With the economy the way it is, maybe one of the Republican candidates could stand out from the crowd by reviving that old 1920's campaign slogan "A Chicken in Every Pot."
Actually, cooking a whole chicken is an economical and less-wasteful way to feed a family (or yourself, if you want to cook once and eat for days). However, that might not seem self-evident. My sister asked me the other day: Why would you cook a chicken when you can buy a rotisserie chicken for $4.99?
4.99 is the reason why you should cook your own chicken. We're used to super-cheap food. Factory farmers and food processors take advantage of that, mass producing animals and cooking food with ingredients you can't name.
But cook a chicken yourself - you can select a bird that was farmed in a sustainable way and use ingredients that you recognize.
So here's how to roast a chicken:
Ingredients:
One whole chicken
Butter
A lemon
2-3 cloves of garlic
3-4 sprigs of rosemary and sage
Salt
Pepper
You'll also need:
A roasting pan
Kitchen twine
A meat thermometer
But cook a chicken yourself - you can select a bird that was farmed in a sustainable way and use ingredients that you recognize.
So here's how to roast a chicken:
Ingredients:
One whole chicken
Butter
A lemon
2-3 cloves of garlic
3-4 sprigs of rosemary and sage
Salt
Pepper
You'll also need:
A roasting pan
Kitchen twine
A meat thermometer
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Unwrap the chicken and reach your hand in the cavity (what some might call "the butt".) Take out anything that's in there (the neck, the giblets). Rinse the chicken under cold water inside and out. Pat dry.
Step 2: Chop up some of the rosemary and sage and mix with a couple of tablespoons of butter. Then cut the lemon into quarters. Stick it into the cavity (otherwise known as "the butt."). Put the garlic and herb sprigs into the cavity.
Step 3: Using your hands, rub (or massage) the butter all over the chicken's skin.
Step 4: Truss the chicken. There's probably a fancy way to do this, but I just take a piece of twine and tie the wings close to the body, then tie the drumsticks together.
Step 5: Put the chicken in the roasting pan. Stick it in the oven. Stick your meat thermometer into the deepest part of the chicken.
Step 6: Cook until the internal thermometer reads at least 165 degrees. Take it out of the oven and let it sit for about 15 minutes.
And that's it! It looks fancy when you serve it on a platter, and you can use the leftovers for all sorts of cooking adventures.
Step 2: Chop up some of the rosemary and sage and mix with a couple of tablespoons of butter. Then cut the lemon into quarters. Stick it into the cavity (otherwise known as "the butt."). Put the garlic and herb sprigs into the cavity.
Step 3: Using your hands, rub (or massage) the butter all over the chicken's skin.
Step 4: Truss the chicken. There's probably a fancy way to do this, but I just take a piece of twine and tie the wings close to the body, then tie the drumsticks together.
Step 5: Put the chicken in the roasting pan. Stick it in the oven. Stick your meat thermometer into the deepest part of the chicken.
Step 6: Cook until the internal thermometer reads at least 165 degrees. Take it out of the oven and let it sit for about 15 minutes.
And that's it! It looks fancy when you serve it on a platter, and you can use the leftovers for all sorts of cooking adventures.
1 comment:
Herb roasted chicken is one of my favorite meals! I love the way it makes the house smell, I love the way it tastes, and there's nothing like getting three meals out of it! I will admit to taking the easy route sometimes and getting the rotisserie chicken, but I LOVE the way the organic chickens taste. :)
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