Simple Oven Roasted Chicken

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In a time when boneless, skinless chicken dominates, a simple oven roasted chicken evokes leisurely Sunday dinners. In fact, I have met people who have never roasted a chicken and find the idea daunting. Really, a chicken can be prepped and in the oven in minutes, leaving the cook free to prepare side dishes, and come out juicy and full of flavor with little effort. (Plus, if you can roast a chicken, you can roast a turkey. It is pretty much the same thing, just more and longer.)

While I buy whole chickens regularly, I usually put them in the slow cooker. That is even easier and doesn’t heat up the house, a detail that matters in the summer! If you want to try the slow cooker chicken, try https://happyrecipebox.com/simple-slow-cooker-chicken-two-ways/.

As easy as the slow cooker is, a simple oven roasted chicken is more special and hardly more effort. This particular chicken was the last of the chickens we bought from our friend Tony. He raised chickens and sold them last summer. They were the best chickens we ever had! Thanks, Tony! Sometimes we spotted them walking around in the sunshine when we drove past the farm, walking around in the sunshine and fresh air. I opted for the oven method for our special chicken.

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How to Prepare a Simple Oven Roasted Chicken

If you can, start with a good quality bird. It tastes better. Take it out of its packaging, and set it in a roasting pan. Set your oven to 425 while you get the chicken ready.

(I brined mine first. It didn’t come from the grocery store with the solution they put in to sort of do this for you. The brine was nothing fancy, just about a quart of water warmed with a handful of salt and a handful of sugar, cooled, and refrigerated with the chicken in it for about 20 hours. The idea is to make the chicken juicy and tender. You can go down a whole rabbit hole of brine recipes with interesting flavors, but I stayed basic.)

Prepare your ingredients so you don’t have to keep washing your hands! You need a half stick of cold butter, sliced, and a tablespoon or so of melted butter, plus the seasonings. I used a teaspoon each of salt, pepper, onion and garlic powders, rosemary, and oregano.

Start with the seasoning mixture and work it under the skin of the chicken as best you can. Usually there is a bit of a membrane you need to work your way under, then you can get the spices between the skin and the meat where they will flavor the chicken the most. Do this on top and on the bottom as best you can. It need not be perfect!

I rubbed them around, but it is hard to see. Then stick the butter slices in between the meat and the skin. The butter will add some flavor and keep the bird moist and juicy.

Brush a bit of melted butter over the skin, then salt and pepper lightly. Now pop in in the oven and work on whatever other dishes need to be prepared.

At 425 F, it won’t take more than 15 minutes or so per pound of chicken. Mine was about 6 pounds, and it was done in an hour and a half. Though not necessary, I used a meat thermometer, aiming for 165 F. The temperature may be quite different in different spots, so try a couple if you aren’t sure.

Pro tip: make sure your thermometer is set to Fahrenheit. As it turns out, Celsius is quite different, as advertised. We once had an awfully dry turkey when I made this mistake. Thankfully, it wasn’t a Thanksgiving turkey.

Let the chicken rest (uncovered, if you like crispy skin) for 20-30 minutes. No, the chicken isn’t tired, but the juices will stay in the meat better if you do, resulting in juicier meat.

Make It Your Way

1. Change the seasonings! Use less salt or pepper, swap different herbs, etc.
2. Make it dairy free! Use olive oil or coconut oil, or try duck fat.
3. Use fresh herbs if you have them, tripling the quantity.
4. You can add something in the cavity to add flavor, such as fresh herbs, garlic, an onion, or a lemon.
5. Before you put the chicken in the pan, set some chopped veggies tossed with a bit of olive oil and salt in the pan. They will roast along with the chicken and be flavored with the drippings. Possibilities include onions, garlic, carrots, fennel, etc.
6. Even if you don’t roast vegetables with your chicken, you can roast some by themselves while the chicken is resting to make a delicious side dish. Other sides dish ideas might be roasted potatoes or sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green salad, green bean casserole, or many others. Chicken tastes good with all sorts of side dishes.
7. If you want, you can use the bones and such to make a broth with the chicken carcass. I usually use a slow cooker overnight with whatever we didn’t eat, some salt and cider vinegar, and water. I might add bay leaf, peppercorns, other herbs, onion, carrot, celery, etc. Those are optional.

What do you like to have with your roasted chicken?