With most supermarkets offering ready-made roasted chicken these days, you may ask yourself, why roast my own chicken? Trust me, sometimes those super market shortcuts are great, especially when you get a text or phone call from your beloveds, feeling under the weather and in dire need of momma’s homemade chicken soup! However, the store-bought birds tend to be dry and also full of extra sodium and spices that you may not really want or need. Plus, roasting your own is quite simple and is well worth the time and effort, not to mention the love!
ROASTED CHICKEN
PREP TIME 5-10 minutes
ROASTING TIME 1 1/4 – 1 1/2 hours
RESTING TIME 15-30 minutes
INGREDIENTS
1 Roasting Chicken (5-6#)
1 Tbsp Dry Thyme (2 Tbsp fresh)
1 Tbsp Dry Rosemary (2 Tbsp fresh)
1 Tsp Dry Ground Sage (2 Tsp fresh)
1 Tsp Paprika
1 Tsp Onion Powder
1 Tsp Sea Salt
Love – as much as needed!
INSTRUCTIONS
Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Thoroughly rinse your chicken with cold water, be sure to remove the neck and inner parts packet (gizzard, heart and liver), but save that for the stock. Pat dry with paper towels and place in a nice roasting pot. I prefer a “Dutch oven” type pot with cover vs a roasting pan, which otherwise has to be covered with foil. In a small bowl mix all of the herbs and spices then rub all over the chicken. Place in oven and roast 15 minutes per pound – a 5-6# bird will need 1 1/4 – 1 1/2 hours of roasting time. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 15-30 minutes, so the chicken retains its juices when you carve it. Always carve the entire chicken immediately, even if you do not intend on consuming it all right away. But do not throw away that carcass – it’s going to make a heavenly stock!
CHICKEN STOCK INSTRUCTIONS
Now that you’ve roasted your chicken, you want to take full advantage of the left-over juices and bones that are full of rich goodness with those little morsels of meat impossible to carve off. Place the carcass back in the same pot used to roast the meat and cover with 1 qt (4 cups) water. You can also add the neck, liver, gizzard and heart, if you’d like. I usually add some additional herbs at this point – 1-2 Tbsp. Thyme, Rosemary, and Sage, along with a Tbsp. of Sea Salt. Simmer on low for a minimum of 2-3 hours, to extract the most flavor from the bones. Turn off heat, and allow stock to cool to room temperature before straining the stock from the bones.
At this point, you can use the stock right away or freeze for another time. HINT, I always keep a quart of stock in the freezer to use each time I make soup or gravy. I always roast a fresh chicken each time, but use the stock from the time before (which will lessen the actual amount of time to prepare your stock based recipes). I like to use my Bormioli Rocco Canning Jars from Steelite, just be sure to leave space in the jar for expansion in the freezer. Stock will store for 3-4 months, but you will surely use it sooner! When you are ready to use your stock, simply remove from freezer and store in refrigerator overnight to thaw. For a quick-thaw, put covered jar in a pot of boiling water until stock is thawed enough to remove from jar.
