This yummy recipe is brought to us by my good friend Ryan, whom I affectionately call Pastor Ryan. But you can call him Ryan, The P.R., Renaissance Man, or Jeremy Renner. Or you can call him Pastor Ryan.
And speaking of Jeremy Renner, please look at this resemblance:
Jeremy Renner.
Ryan.
Jeremy Renner.
Ryan.
It’s just crazy, is what it is.
Sorry.
Carry on, Ryan.
I just had to get the whole Jeremy Renner elephant-in-the-room thing out of the way.
______________________________
By Ryan.
For years I was that guy who purchased the ubiquitous “Rotisserie Chicken” from the supermarket. Sure, they were tasty, most times at least, but it was something that I wanted to be able to do myself.
Over the last couple of years I have been far more interested in knowing where my food comes from, and you just can’t be sure about that slow-spinning, flame-surrounded yard bird at the grocery. Not to mention how many hours it’s been sitting under that red lamp in the deli section.
A couple of things kept me from roasting a whole chicken myself:
– It wouldn’t be as convenient
AND
– It would be difficult to do…wouldn’t it?
The answer my friends is nah bubba nah. It couldn’t be easier.
Here’s what you’ll need:
* 3-4lb Whole Chicken
* Something to stuff inside the chicken (Apple, Onion, Lemon, Garlic, Carrot, etc..)
* Canola Oil
* Salt and Pepper
* Fresh Herbs
You can stuff various items into the chicken for roasting and this will provide additional moisture and aromatics that will help to flavor the chicken from the inside. I’m using a lemon, some garlic cloves, and an onion.
For the outside, I’ll be using a combination of Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme.
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees while you pick the herbs from their stems.
Then you’ll need to give all those herbs a chop.
This smells great already.
Toss those herbs into a bowl and add in your salt and pepper.
For EACH chicken you’ll be roasting, you’ll need:
* 1-2 Tablespoons of chopped herbs
* 1 Tablespoon of salt (kosher is best)
* 1 Teaspoon of pepper
Add to that 2-3 tablespoons of Canola oil…
And give it all a stir.
Before we apply our herb mixture to the outside of the chicken, we’ll need to fill the cavity of the bird with our aromatics. As I mentioned, I’m using Lemon, Garlic, and Onion. You won’t be eating these items, so you can just give them a rough chop / slice / mash.
Stuff those aromatics into the nether regions of your chicken…
It’s important that your whole chicken be patted dry with a clean cloth or paper towel. This will help to insure a nice crust on your chicken once it’s finished. Begin rubbing the chicken down with your canola-herb-salt-pepper mix. No need to get crazy with it. It’s just a chicken.
Just be sure to rub it down on all sides…
Did I mention I’m doing multiple chickens at once? That’s one of the coolest parts about this. I can easily do six of these chickens in the oven for a large group of people. At $5 or less each chicken, and feeding 3-4 people each chicken…it’s a deal!
Slide your herb coated chicken(s) into that 450 degree oven for an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes until they are golden brown and have developed a delicious crust.
Once the chickens have roasted, it’s good to let them rest for 10-15 minutes. This will allow all of the juiciness of the bird to redistribute to the right places. If you tore into it right away…all its goodness would run out and you’d be left with a dry chicken.
And that’s a no-no.
You’ll notice that I didn’t truss the chicken with any sort of butcher’s twine or anything. Normally this is just fine. If you notice the legs popping out too far (which can cause them to get overly brown) during the roasting process, you can always make a small cut in the skin itself and pop the legs through it as I’ve done with this particular chicken. Welcome to accomplishment. Feels good, doesn’t it?
You’re gorgeous, dahling.
She looks even better sectioned out and sitting atop a nice creamy pasta with mushrooms. I’d teach you how to cut a whole chicken, but it’s too easy for you not to try on your own. The legs and wings will pull right off and the breasts are easy to slice away.
You have to try this!
Sprinkle on some more herbs to finish things up and you’ll look like a total pro.
No one has to know how easy peasy it is.
Love Wins,
Ryan
Twitter // @detzelpretzel
