Roast Chicken

There are a million & one ways to roast a chicken- actually, I guess it’s closer to infinity. This roast chicken is everything and beyond that. It’s super flavorful, easy, comforting, filling, delicious, etc. It’s so good and is a great family meal that does not take long to put together and is pretty inexpensive.

Roast Chicken

Ingredients:
Serves 2-4

4.5-5.5 lb chicken
2 leeks, sliced
1 fennel bulb, sliced
1 1/2 lemon, quartered
2 garlic bulbs, halved
6 sprigs of thyme
8 dates, pitted and halved
10-ish small potatoes, halved
4 tablespoons salted butter, room temp
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Instructions:

Remove the chicken from the fridge, remove innards, rinse and pat dry. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper on all sides including cavity. Let stand at room temperature for 1 1/2-2 hours before cooking. TIP: A great step would be to salt & pepper bird and then leave uncovered for a day or two in the refrigerator- this helps the chicken skin to really crisp up nicely. Then, before cooking, take the chicken out and let sit at room temperature for 1 1/2-2 hours- this helps ensure even cooking.

Preheat oven to 475°F

In a large bowl, add leeks, fennel, lemon, garlic, thyme, dates, and potatoes. Pour 1/4 cup of olive oil and generously sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss. Spread evenly into a large cast iron pan.

Stuff 2 lemon halves and 1 garlic head half from the vegetables into the chicken cavity and then tie the legs together while tucking the wings under the breast.

Make a little nest in the middle of the vegetables and nestle the chicken into it. Drizzle a little more olive oil onto chicken breast. Cut the butter into 4 pieces and place on chicken breast.

Roast the chicken uncovered for 25 minutes, then lower the temperature to 400°F and roast until where the thigh meets the breast reaches the temperature of 165°F- that took me another 70-75 minutes for a 5.5 lb bird. Throughout cooking, baste the chicken breast with the juices and rotate the chicken 180°. If the chicken browns too much too early, tent the dish with tin-foil and continue cooking.

When chicken is done, remove from oven and let sit for 15-20 minutes to let the juices re-absorb into the bird.