Foolproof Roast Chicken
While I pride myself on being accepting and unprejudiced to all, I have to confess that I’m biased against boneless, skinless chicken breast. Not that chicken breasts can’t be tasty hidden in enchiladas or smothered with sauce, but why go through that when the bones and the skin are already brimming with all the flavor you need? And when we recognize that the bones contain nourishing minerals, gelatin, and collagen, removing them becomes an obscene adulteration.*
Besides lacking in taste, chicken off-the-bone feels a bit wasteful to me. I’m not a vegetarian by any means, but I do recognize that the meat I consume was once a living thing. If an animal has given its life to nourish my family and me, should’t I at least use as much of the offering as possible? So I savor the crispy skin and the tender meat, and then I freeze the leftover bones and juices to make soup broth later; it’s the least I can do to honor the chicken.
Thus the weeks without a whole roasted chicken are few and far between in my house. This dish is so easy to prepare, and honestly, it’s the juiciest and best chicken you’ll find. It takes about 5 minutes to put together and easily feeds a family of five with leftovers.
This recipe is also very versatile. You can use any spice blend that you like. My favorites are Old Bay Seasoning and Sunny Paris, but you can even use salt, pepper, paprika, thyme, and garlic powder, and it will be tasty. Whatever seasoning blend you use, be mindful of your salt. When I use Old Bay, I don’t add any additional salt because the blend already contains enough. Sunny Paris has no salt, so I liberally sprinkle kosher salt all over the chicken (front, back, thighs, and drumsticks) before adding the blend.
Finally, make sure you pat your chicken dry very well. The skin will not brown to a nice crisp if it’s damp, so be sure to pat it well all over with a paper towel before oiling and seasoning. Also, do not squeeze the lemon on the outside of the chicken for this same reason. The crispy skin is one of the best parts, and you do not want to miss out.
Ingredients:
3-5lb. whole chicken, giblets removed
1/2 lemon
1/2 large yellow onion, peeled and cut in half
1-1 1/2 TBS. spice blend (Old Bay, Sunny Paris, Southwest, or your choice)
Kosher Salt and Pepper as needed
Olive oil for rubbing onto the chicken
Method:
Preheat the oven to 415ºF.
Pat the chicken dry and place it in a rimmed casserole dish. Drizzle olive oil over the front and back of the chicken (just enough to coat) and then massage the oil evenly over the skin. Evenly distribute the seasoning over the entire chicken, being careful to season the front, back, thighs, drumsticks, and wings.
Squeeze the half lemon inside the cavity before placing the remaining lemon peel inside. Be careful to keep the juice only inside the cavity and not on the skin. Then add the onion quarters to the cavity as well.
Bake in the preheated oven for an hour to an hour and twenty minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast reads 165ºF. Remove the chicken from the oven and let it rest for 5-10 minutes before carving.
Note: leftover bones and juices can be frozen for several months and used to make soup broth later.
