Herb Garlic Roasted Chicken

The Whole Chicken. Complete and economical yet so neglected. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, bags of chicken wings, little trays of chicken tenders, frozen barbecue boneless chicken wings for up to $8.00 per pound and the list goes on and on. Next time you're staring down at a whole chicken on sale for under a dollar per pound, grab one and click over to this recipe. I have to warn you though, this dish does require a bit of planning ahead. It isn't a "got stuck in traffic now I'm pressed for time to get dinner on the table" type dish, but I promise that the extra planning will definitely pay off. On the plus side, whether you eat the skin or not, it's a whole lot healthier than a bucket of chicken....much cheaper too. In the end, nothing is much better than a family sitting together eating a home cooked meal.

Herb Garlic Roasted Chicken

Herb Garlic Roasted Chicken

Brine. It is the key to having moist and juicy chicken and the reason why you must plan ahead.

1 gallon water
3/4 cup Kosher salt
1 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp whole black pepper
1 head of garlic cut in half to expose all the cloves
1 bunch fresh parsley or whatever you fresh herbs you have.

put everything together except fresh herbs, bring to a boil and let cool to room temperature

submerge the chicken and keep in the fridge for at least 12 hours.

remove chicken from the brine and pat dry with paper towels to remove excess moisture, place on a rack and back to the fridge for at least 6 hours. this is key for very crispy skin.

for this recipe, the fresh herbs that will be going in the chicken cavity is lemongrass since i have it growing in the backyard. use whatever herbs you like, about two cups of it and make sure to bruise the herbs to release the essential oils prior to stuffing it in the chicken. grab the head of garlic from the brine and stuff it in there with the herbs. season the skin with some fresh cracked black pepper. NO MORE SALT. the brine already took care of that.

now truss the chicken for even cooking. I lost my butcher's twine so I used sewing thread. No big whoop ;) here's a quick video from Chow:

have the chicken out to reach room temp before cooking.

preheat the oven to 450

bake chicken on a rack at this temp for 10-15 minutes then bring it down to 350 for 20 minutes for every pound of your chicken. (these are just guidelines. all ovens are different so cooking times will vary)

once out of the oven, PLEASE DO NOT CARVE IMMEDIATELY. loosely tent with foil and let rest in a warm area for 20 minutes.

carve and ENJOY!