I was in the mood for some comfort food, and decided to make a whole roasted chicken. The Purdue All Natural Roasters were on sale too, so that made my decision even easier. I always keep it very simple… stuffed with aromatics and roasted on a bed of veggies. The veggies under the chicken make a wonderfully flavored pan sauce after the chicken is cooked. I would like to have brined it, as I always do my turkeys, but this was a spur of the moment roasting. Well, as spur of the moment roasting can be! Even without the brining, it was quite tasty!

One thing however, neither my husband nor I care for the dark meat. The pooches love it though, and were very happy to eat it! Next time, I think I’ll try roasting whole chicken breasts with the rib bones and see how that goes. I served it with mashed potatoes and sauteed asparagus.

Whole Roasted Rosemary Chicken Recipe

1 whole roaster chicken (3-5 pounds)
salt
pepper
3 carrots, peeled and large chopped
3 celery stalks, large chopped
2 onions, large chopped
3 stalks rosemary
3 stalks thyme
3 stalks parsley
2 tbsp butter, softened

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees and place oven rack at the lowest level.

2. Rinse and dry the chicken well. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity with equal parts of carrot, celery and onion, along with 2 stalks of rosemary and all the thyme and parsley. Rub the exterior of the chicken with the softened butter, and if you’re feeling extra decadent, rub a bit more under the skin.

3. Scatter the rest of the chopped vegetables in the roasting pan, remove the leaves from the remaining stalk of rosemary and add to the roasting pan. This creates a raft to hold the chicken. Set the chicken on top of the vegetables and place into the preheated oven and set your timer for 15 minutes. (Very important, or you will certainly burn the chicken!)

4. After 15 minutes of roasting reduce the temperature to 350 and continue roasting for about 45 minutes. You will want to roast for about 12-15 minutes per pound. I start checking after about 10 minutes per pound, as I do not care for overcooked chicken.

5. Remove from oven and place the chicken on a serving platter. Loosely tent a piece of foil over the chicken and allow to rest for at least 15 minutes. Make your sauce while the chicken rests.

Note: If you’re not too concerned with extra fat, baste the chicken 2-3 times with melted butter while roasting… it makes an amazingly crispy skin!

Chicken Pan Sauce Recipe

3 tbsp flour
1/4 to 1/2 c white wine
2 c chicken stock (low-sodium)
1 stalk rosemary
2 stalks thyme

1. Pour all the pan drippings into a glass measuring cup and let sit for a minute to allow the oil to float to the top. Pour or ladle out some of the oil leaving several tablespoons of oil and all the pan drippings. Pour the remaining drippings and oil back into the roasting pan and place the roasting pan on your stove over medium heat. If you do not have excess oil, you can easily skip this step.

2. Add the flour and stirring constantly, cook for about 2 minutes. Pour in the wine and stir quickly to dissolve the flour mixture, about 1 minute. Add the stock and stir well to incorporate. Bring to a simmer, add the rosemary and thyme, and let simmer for at least 10-15 minutes.

3. If it is not thick enough, thicken with 1 tbsp cornstarch stirred into 2 tbsp cold water in a small bowl. Strain the sauce through a fine mesh strainer and discard the vegetables and herbs.