Roasted Chicken

I have very little no experience roasting a whole chicken because it has always seemed like a very difficult process and I have found it much easier to simply buy the cut of meat that I want (breast, thigh, etc.). You hear people all the time claiming that it is so simple and when you see the finished product it always looks like an amazing piece of meat that you want to cut into right then and there. Since whole chickens were on sale at our local grocery store last week I decided I was going to give it a shot. I remembered seeing an episode on the Food Network where Ina Garten was roasting a chicken that she called Engagement Roast Chicken.  She claimed it was simple, easy and delicious (supposedly women who make this for their boyfriends will get engaged shortly after) so I figured this would be a good recipe to start with. I did not do a good job of reading through the recipe before going to the grocery store so I did not have the ingredients on hand to make the sauce. The chicken was so tender and juicy it was still delicious but I can imagine the sauce would add even more to this recipe. Note to self, read directions completely before beginning a task. Since I still have lots of rosemary growing I added that inside with the lemon and garlic.

 

What I learned about roasting a whole chicken:

1. It IS simple to do. It takes a while to cook in the oven but all you have to do is a little prep work beforehand  and the oven does the rest.

2. It is great for leftovers

3. It is much cheaper to buy a whole chicken

4. It is almost foolproof (that is if you read the whole recipe before beginning). You can roast a chicken so many different ways just by adding different vegetables and spices that you have on hand and that are in season.

 

I have a feeling I will be buying whole chickens from now on to cook with. If you are like me and the thought of discarding the giblets turns you off just close your eyes and go for it. Truthfully though, it's not that bad :).