02 Mar Whole Roasted Chicken

Whole chicken shows up on the Kremer dinner table once a week, without fail. Sometimes it is roasted out on the barbecue rotisserie-style, sometimes I butterfly it and grill it and sometimes it just gets roasted in the oven (as with this recipe). Oftentimes I’ll cook two birds together to give us plenty of leftovers to throw into lunches during the week. From a financial standpoint buying the whole bird rather than just the breasts or thighs can save a lot of money- a whole organic bird is usually around $2.50/pound while breasts and thighs are usually $5-7/pound depending on where you’re shopping. And, in the Kremer household we actually use the WHOLE chicken by making delicious bone broth after the meat has been removed from the bones. What are you waiting for!?! Lets get to roasting!

Ingredients

Brine

• ½ cup kosher salt
• About 1 gallon water

Seasoning (Use Any of the below combinations) 

• Salt and Pepper
• Salt and Paprika
• About 3-5 whole garlic cloves (great for stuffing into the cavity)
• Chopped carrot, celery, onion, fresh thyme, fresh sage (about 1 cup total)
• Other seasonings such as: rosemary, sage, garlic, paprika, cayenne pepper, dried thyme, and other herbs or ready-made seasonings of choice can also be used, either as a seasoning on top or to stuff into cavity.
• Organic bacon can also be used to season and add moisture by simply draping about 4-5 slices of uncooked bacon over the chicken after the initial roasting is complete.

Steps:

1. In a large bowl or roasting pan, combine salt and water to make a brine. Check cavity to see if neck and giblets have been placed inside, if so, remove and set aside.
2. Submerge chicken into brine and let soak for 2-12 hours (put it in the fridge to brine so it stays chilled).
3. Drain brine and rinse well in cold water. Dry with a paper towel then transfer back to roasting pan (a baking dish also works, simply cover with foil.)
4. Preheat oven to 450
5. Chicken can be seasoned as desired. A little salt and paprika makes a nice simple seasoning. Another option is to chop a carrot, 1 celery stalk and about 1/4 of an onion and combine with thyme and sage and spoon into cavity of chicken.
6. When ready, place chicken on lower rack of oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, uncovered. Then, reduce heat to 350, cover, and bake for 20 minutes per pound (usually about 1.5-2.5 hours). The chicken is done when it very easily comes off of the bone and juices run clear or when a thermometer reads 165 degrees when inserted into the thigh (close to but not touching the thigh bone).