Sunday Best Roast Chicken Recipes

PERFECT ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Place the onions, carrots, and fennel in a roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.
• Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes. Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables.

SUNDAY ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Using a sharp knife, trim stalks and root end of fennel bulb. Cut bulb lengthwise into quarters; cut and remove core. Cut fennel into 1-in. wedges. Place fennel, carrots and three of the onion quarters in a shallow roasting pan, spreading evenly., Cut lemon in half; squeeze juice into a small bowl, reserving lemon halves. Stir minced garlic, honey, salt, pepper flakes and pepper into juice., Place chicken on a work surface, neck side down. With fingers, carefully loosen skin from the tail end of the chicken breast. Spoon juice mixture under skin of breast; secure skin with toothpicks. Place garlic cloves, lemon halves and remaining onion inside chicken cavity. Tuck wings under chicken; tie drumsticks together. Place chicken over vegetables, breast side up., Pour orange juice over chicken. Roast 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until a thermometer inserted in thickest part of thigh reads 170°-175°. (Cover loosely with foil if chicken browns too quickly.), Remove roasting pan from oven; increase oven setting to 450°. Remove chicken from pan; tent with foil and let stand 15 minutes before carving., Meanwhile, return roasting pan to oven; roast vegetables 10-15 minutes longer or until vegetables are tender and lightly browned. Using a slotted spoon, remove vegetables from pan. If desired, skim fat from pan juices and serve with chicken and vegetables.

SUNDAY'S BEST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Finely grate the zest from the lemons to measure 2 tablespoons; set aside. Coarsely chop 2 lemons; place chopped lemons and rosemary sprigs in the chicken cavity. Save remaining lemon for another use., Place chicken on a rack in a shallow roasting pan; brush with oil. Combine the minced rosemary, pepper, salt and lemon zest; rub over chicken., Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 2-1/4 to 2-3/4 hours or until a thermometer inserted in thickest part of thigh reads 170°-175°, basting occasionally with drippings. (Cover loosely with foil if chicken browns too quickly.), Let stand for 15 minutes before carving. Discard lemons and rosemary sprigs.

PERFECT ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Let chicken and 1 tablespoon butter stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Remove and discard the plastic pop-up timer from chicken if there is one. Remove the giblets and excess fat from the chicken cavity. Rinse chicken inside and out under cold running water. Dry chicken thoroughly with paper towels. Tuck the wing tips under the body. Sprinkle the cavity of the chicken liberally with salt and pepper, and set aside.
• In the center of a heavy-duty roasting pan, place onion slices in two rows, touching. Place the palm of your hand on top of lemon and, pressing down, roll lemon back and forth several times. This softens the lemon and allows the juice to flow more freely. Pierce entire surface of lemon with a fork. Using the side of a large knife, gently press on garlic cloves to open slightly. Insert garlic cloves, thyme sprigs, and lemon into cavity. Place chicken in pan, on onion slices. Cut about 18 inches of kitchen twine, bring chicken legs forward, cross them, and tie together.
• Spread the softened butter over entire surface of chicken, and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Place in the oven, and roast until skin is deep golden brown and crisp and the juices run clear when pierced, about 1 1/2 hours. When chicken seems done, insert an instant-read thermometer into the breast, then the thigh. The breast temperature should read 180 degrees and the thigh 190 degrees.
• Remove chicken from oven, and transfer to a cutting board with a well. Let chicken stand 10 to 15 minutes so the juices settle. Meanwhile, pour the pan drippings into a shallow bowl or fat separator, and leave onions in the pan. Leave any brown baked-on bits in the bottom of the roasting pan, and remove and discard any blackened bits. Using a large spoon or fat separator, skim off and discard as much fat as possible. Pour the remaining drippings and the juices that have collected under the resting chicken back into the roasting pan. Place on the stove over medium-high heat to cook, about 1 minute. Add chicken stock, raise heat to high, and, using a wooden spoon, stir up and combine the brown bits with the stock until the liquid is reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Strain the gravy into a small bowl, pressing on onions to extract any liquid. Discard onions, and stir in the remaining tablespoon of cold butter until melted and incorporated. Untie the legs, and remove and discard garlic, thyme, and lemon. Carve, and serve gravy on the side.

CHEF JOHN'S SALT ROASTED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Dry the outside of chicken with paper towels. Tuck the wing tips underneath the chicken and place into a large oven-safe skillet. Use scissors to snip off the tail, if desired.
• Generously sprinkle kosher salt into the cavity and over the back and sides of chicken. Tie chicken legs together with kitchen twine. Sprinkle salt generously over the breasts, coating them thoroughly. Wipe excess salt out of skillet with paper towels.
• Bake chicken in the preheated oven until an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into a thigh, not touching bone, reads 160 degrees C (70 degrees C), 50 to 60 minutes. Remove from skillet to a serving platter and let rest 5 to 10 minutes.
• Blot about 90 percent of the chicken fat from the skillet with a paper towel held with tongs, leaving the browned bits of food in the skillet. Place skillet over medium-high heat and add thyme leaves. Cook and stir until thyme is wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour lemon juice, chicken broth, and water into skillet, stirring until the browned bits dissolve and the sauce has reduced by about half, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Reduce heat to low, add cold butter, and stir until butter has begun to melt. Add any accumulated juices from the chicken to sauce and continue to stir until butter is incorporated and sauce is slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and season with salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste. Spoon sauce over chicken to serve.

MAPLE ROASTED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Using paper towels, pat the chicken dry and trim off any excess fat. Place in a large resealable plastic bag or medium bowl with a lid.
• In a medium bowl, stir together the maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika and 2 tablespoons salt. Pour into the bag with the chicken, seal and refrigerate overnight or for at least 1 hour.
• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Pull the brined chicken out of the fridge, drain off the brine and pat the chicken dry. On a rimmed sheet pan, rub the chicken with the olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt and the pepper.
• Set it skin side up and roast for 25 to 35 minutes, or until the juices run clear when pierced and the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
• As the chicken roasts, make the glaze: Add the maple syrup, cinnamon, salt, fennel, paprika and ½ cup water to a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the mixture has reduced and thickened enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.
• Brush the cooked thighs with the glaze and set under the broiler for 30 seconds to 1 minute, keeping an eye on the glaze as it is quick to burn. Serve hot.