For whatever reason I felt like roasting a chicken for dinner last night. So I did. While this isn’t much of an accomplishment it was tasty and that’s all that really matters. Plus I have leftovers to snack upon and perhaps make lunch from.
I don’t make roast chicken very often. I think in the 13+ years I’ve been hosting friends for Saturday night dinner I’ve made it twice. I do cook a lot of chicken, usually thighs or boneless breasts. But whole roasted chicken just never jumps out at me when I’m wondering what to serve this week. {shrug}
After rinsing off a 4+ whole chicken and patting it dry I halved a lemon and stuffed it, along with 4-5 springs of recently dried thyme, into the cavity. Then I rubbed a liberal amount of kosher salt over the skin at which point I thought to rub some in the cavity as well thus ensure that the lemon was good and beat up. Next came a couple of glugs of safflower oil rubbed into the skin.
Into a 400°F oven it went for about 60 minutes. While the juices ran clear the thermometer didn’t quite read 170 so back in the oven it went for another 15 minutes. Once the internal temp was 170 I set it on the counter to rest for 10-15 minutes. I sliced off a thigh and drumstick for consumption. The skin was nicely crisped and the meat was delicious. Tasty goodness. Yum.
Afterlife Cafe 