Roast Chicken

Roast chicken has to be one of the most common recipes ever.  As an avid cook, I've tried tons of chicken recipes, from baked, braised, friend to grilled chicken.  Suprisingly, I've never really tried roasting a whole chicken before.  When my friend Alfie, invited us to come over his place to cook.  I decided to give it a shot.  It was fairly simple to make.  You just need the patience to wait for it to cook in the oven.

I adapted the recipe Roast Chicken with Lemon and Thyme from Bon Appetit but made some tweaks which turned out to be a crowd pleaser!  Here's the recipe with some adjustments:

Ingredients:

  3 tbsp thyme (we couldn't find any fresh ones but the dried ones turned out to be good)
  2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  5 garlic cloves, chopped
  2 tsp grated lemon peel
  1 7 pound roasting chicken
  1 lemon
  1/4 cup dry white wine
  1 cup chicken broth (I used duck broth, since I made some)
  2 tsp all purpose flour
  baby onions (my addition)

  1. Preheat oven at 450 F.  Mix first 4 ingredients in bowl.  Rinse chicken; pat dry.  Place chicken in a   roasting pan.  Rub all but 1 tbsp garlic-thyme oil over.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Place lemon in cavity of chicken.  Tie legs with string.

  2. Roast chicken 20 mins.  Reduce oven temperature to 375 F.  Add in the baby onions.  Roast chicken about 1 hr and 15 mins.  Lift chicken and transfer to a serving platter.

  3.  (I tweaked this part of the original recipe) Pour pan juices into a pan.  Add broth.  Add wine.  Cook in high heat until the sauce reduces.  Add flour and whisk into mixture until thick.  Serve in as sauce.

The chicken in itself is really tasty and juicy enough.  The sauce is awesome to match with whatever side dish you prepare.