When I moved into my new apartment, I went on a stock-up grocery trip as I always do. One thing that was on sale was whole chicken (90 cents a pound or something). Since I had already brined and roasted a whole pheasant, I figured a whole chicken shouldn't be much more difficult. So I got one a stuck it in the freezer. Then one day I decided it was starting to get cold enough to count as fall, and chicken soup is great fall weather food! Of course, I roasted the meat and just enjoyed some tasty baked chicken first. The carcass is in the crock pot today for chicken soup.
I took out the bird, made a nice brine, and roasted it the next day. And it turned out tender and amazing!
Ingredients for brine:
1 cup salt
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 cup pink moscato (because I had no open white wines)
5 bay leaves
sprinkle garlic, sprinkle black pepper
About a gallon of water
Step 1: Mix all ingredients in a pot large enough to hold the whole bird. Add water to the top (once bird is added, not before, or you'll spill everywhere. Not that I've ever done that...).
Step 2: Stick it in the refrigerator overnight (or at least for 4 hours. you can put it in there in the morning, head off to work and finish it later that night too). I had to put the milk sideways on the bottom shelf to make room for a day, but well worth the space-hogging.
Ingredients for the bird:
1 whole frozen chicken, thawed in fridge
Several gobs of margerine or butter
1 whole apple, lemon and/or onion cut into quarters (I used one whole Gala apple)
Salt, pepper, and paprika
Step 3: Take it out, pour the brine down the sink. Wipe off the bird and place in a large baking pan. Rub it down all over with margerine. I despise raw chicken, so this is super disgusting for me, but it is a necessary evil of epicuriosity. Shove some butter chunks under the skin if you can too. If there are bits and pieces inside the cavity, take those out and dispose of or cook separate. (I don't know what to do with a chicken neck and neither I nor my boyfriend is interested in trying liver just yet, so unfortunately I threw them out. Maybe someday I'll be braver). Then sprinkle it all over with spices, and shove the aromatics (apple, onion, lemon) up the butt. Sorry, inside the cavity...
Step 4: Put into an oven at 425 for 15-20 minutes. This will lead to a nice crispy outside skin. Then lower the heat to 375 for about another hour.
Once it's all nicely browned and roasted, it looks and smells divine!
Take the aromatics you stuffed it with out and discard. Use the meat any way you like! It is tender and moist and super flavorful. Not bad for $5 a bird.
I served it with broccoli cheddar rice and candied carrots on the side. Perfection. Now I think I also need to work on learning how to properly carve the thing rather than just stabbing and sawing until a piece falls off...Labels: apple, bay leaves, cheap, chicken, easy, garlic, multiple meals, oven, poultry, roasting, whole bird
