This roast chicken is the best base recipe to use which you can then change however you'd like with herbs and seasonings of choice.
So this is hands down the best roast chicken. I probably make this once a week and then use the rest to make chicken stock.
What I love about roast chicken is that you can change it up easily depending on what you have in your pantry. I usually use onion, fresh bay leaves, lemon, thyme, and fresh cracked pepper. You can also put seasonal vegetables around in the pan to roast at the same time.
The key to this chicken is to let it rest for at least 20 minutes breast side down. This cannot be skimped! Resting allows the meat to relax and the juices to go back into the meat making it moist.
One of the best parts about making roast chicken is the pan juices you can turn into sauce, delicious!
Ingredients:
Whole Chicken (about 4 lbs), giblets removed from cavity
1 lemon
1/2 onion
2 fresh bay leaves (or dried Turkish Bay Leaves)
Herbs such as thyme, tarragon, rosemary, etc. (optional)
Salt and Fresh Cracked Pepper
Wine or chicken stock (optional)
Creme Fraiche
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 450 F
Wash and dry chicken
Salt and pepper the entire chicken including the inside and then place on a rack in a roasting pan.
Cut the lemon in half, squeeze juice over the chicken and then put the lemon halves inside the cavity. If you are using herbs, you can put some sprigs inside. Add the onion into the cavity to plug up the inside. Take the bay leaves and place each underneath the skin on the breast being careful not to tear the skin.
Turn the chicken on the pan to make sure the breast is up, then place the pan into the preheated oven and roast for about 1 hour. The leg joint should move easily and the bird should be a nice golden brown. Be sure to take a temperature reading as well, 165 F is done for a chicken.
Remove the chicken and turn it breast side down on a cutting board for at least 20 minutes.
Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, carve the chicken and arrange it on a serving dish.
In the meantime while the chicken is resting, place your pan with the chicken juices onto the stove and bring to a simmer. You can use some chicken stock or wine to deglaze the pan and scrape the chicken bits with a wooden spoon. Add a dollop of Creme Fraiche and a squeeze of lemon juice and whisk together. Remove from heat and add herbs of choice (tarragon is really good in this sauce). Pour over chicken when serving.
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