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Recipe Name: Lemon-Thyme Roast Chicken
| Ingredients: |
1 (3 to 4 pound) chicken
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt per pound of chicken
1 whole lemon (preferably organic), punctured all over with a fork
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1 tablespoon roughly chopped fresh thyme leaves
Freshly ground black pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, for serving
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How to Prepare: |
1. Rinse and dry the chicken thoroughly inside and out, then rub it with
the salt inside and out. Stuff the lemon into the cavity. Tuck the wing tips
under and tie the legs together with kitchen twine.
2. Place chicken on a plate and refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 12
hours and up to 2 days.
3. Take the chicken out of the refrigerator, 1/2 hour before roasting and
pat it dry (it will have released some liquid as it sat).
4. Preheat oven to 450-degrees. Place chicken breast-side up in a shallow,
flameproof roasting pan or heavy skillet. Set pan over high heat for 2 to 3
minutes until the chicken begins to sizzle. Transfer pan to the middle shelf
of the oven and roast undisturbed for 55 minutes, until the chicken is crisp
and well browned and the juices run over when the thigh is poked.
5. Sprinkle chicken all over with thyme leaves, season generously with
black pepper and baste with the pan juices. Tip the chicken up and let the
juices flow from the cavity into the roasting pan. Transfer chicken to a
cutting board, and let rest for 15 minutes.
6. Remove the lemon from the cavity and cut it in half (the lemon will be
very hot). Transfer the lemon halves to a strainer and squeeze the juice
into the roasting pan. Return the pan to the heat and bring the liquid to a
simmer, scraping up all the caramelized bits from the bottom of the pan.
Pour the pan juices into a clear measuring glass and skim the clear fat off
the top (or use a gravy separator).
7. Untruss the chicken, separate and cut off the legs, and cut off the
wings at the second joint. Cut the chicken in half lengthwise, on either
side of the spine. Cut down the halves crosswise, though the bone, to
quarter them.
8. Arrange chicken pieces on a platter and rub butter over all. Serve
drizzled with the pan juices.
© Peter Berley "Ultimate Roast Chicken Dinner"
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