Easy Roast Chicken

By god, do I love a Sunday roast. There's just so much you can do with the leftovers during the week! Sunday is becoming, more and more, the day when we cook meat. We use up the remainder during the week for salads, sandwiches, other recipes, but ultimately, if we're going to eat meat during the week, it's because we did something with it on Sunday.

I guess that's indicative of our shift towards a more plant-grain based diet.

But, there's something about Sundays that call for a roast. Perhaps it's the free time, perhaps it's because that's always what my mother did. Whatever the reason, I'm happy to carry on doing things this way!

Roast Chicken with Garlic, Lemon and Smoked Paprika

(adapted from Cooking Light)

Ingredients

1  roasting chicken
2  teaspoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2  teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2  teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
3/4  teaspoon kosher salt
1/4  teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2  garlic cloves, minced
1  shallot, peeled and halved
½  lemon, quartered

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Rinse chicken under tap, then pat dry with paper towel. Carefully loosen the skin around the breast and legs by pushing fingers between skin and meat. You'll find it generally separates pretty easily.

2. In a small bowl, combine butter with next 7 ingredients (through garlic), blending to form a paste. Rub on both chicken meat under skin and on top of the skin itself. Try to get as much of the garlic under the skin as possible, so it doesn't burn.

3. Truss chicken. Place on a rack in a roasting pan (or do as I do and use a rack on a cast iron skillet) breast side up, and stuff cavity with shallot and lemon pieces. Cook at 350º for 45-60 minutes, or until temperature at thickest part of the thigh reads 158-160º (or so). Raise the heat to 450º and cook for an additional 15 minutes, or until temperature of thigh reads 165º. Remove from pan and let stand 10 minutes before carving so that juices can redistribute.

You can drain off the fat from the pan and make gravy using the pan drippings. The flavours here make an especially delicious one. Any leftovers of the gravy could be used to make a totally excellent poutine.

The Best Roast Chicken I've Had in a Year (at least)

One of the things I love most about winter cooking is roasting a gorgeous bird. As part of our New Year's resolution, Phil and I are trying to buy locally produced meat as often as possible. And if it's free range and antibiotic free to boot, even better!

So when he picked up a gorgeous Rowe Farms chicken last weekend, I knew we were in for a treat... I just didn't realize how amazing this bird was going to be.

I'd like to think it's a combination of this recipe and the bird's providence.

And don't get me started on the sandwiches we made throughout the week with the leftovers. The chicken was moist, perfectly salty and blow-your-mind-tasty. I swear to you, I've never cooked a bird like this before. It puts all those tiny little things you can buy at Loblaws to shame.

So, though this bird cost us 12$ as opposed to 8$, I think those extra 4$ were well worth it.

Two days after roasting it, I made chicken stock with the leftover carcass, some shallots, carrots celery and a bay leaf. After simmering away on the stove for 2 hours, we were left with an intensely chickeny stock. Gorgeous. We got a lot of meals out of that bird - not to mention two litres of stock sitting in my freezer right now!

Glorious Chicken

As a side note, this really is a great way to do potatoes. Cooking them first and throwing them in around the bird lets them soak up all those delicious juices (and fats) and get extra crispy in the oven. They're everything a roast potato should be!

Crisp Skinned Chicken with Rosemary Potatoes

(from Martha Stewart Living January 2011)

Ingredients


6 russet potatoes, peeled and cut crosswise, 3/4 inch thick
Coarse salt
Extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1 whole chicken (about 4 1/2 pounds)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1 small bunch fresh rosemary
3 sprigs fresh sage (my addition) 

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cook potatoes in salted boiling water until tender, 11 to 13 minutes. Drain. Return potatoes to pot, and shake over low heat to dry and fluff. Coat with oil, and season with salt. 

Mix together 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and the cornstarch. Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Rub skin with butter, and season with salt mixture.

 

Close up of the butter and salt mixture.

Stuff some rosemary into cavity. Pile remaining rosemary on a rimmed baking sheet.

Place chicken, breast side up, on rosemary, and tuck wings under. Tie legs together with kitchen twine. Scatter potatoes around chicken. Roast for 30 minutes. 

 

Oven ready

Remove from oven, and flip potatoes. Return to oven, rotating sheet. Roast until chicken juices run clear and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh reaches 165 degrees, about 30 minutes more. Let chicken rest for 10 minutes before serving. If potatoes aren't golden, toss with rosemary, and return to oven.

Stuffed Pork with Prosciutto and Lemons

I think my love of pork prevents me from ever becoming a vegetarian. And, as the weather turns cold, I find myself turning on the oven more often so I can slow roast.

I won't lie to you. This recipe had... erm... challenges.

One: I am not a butcher. My pork looks... well... not that pretty.

Two: My oven sucks and took twice as long to cook the stuff.

Three: Neither of the above two should matter because it was delicious, right?

Lemon and Prosciutto Stuffed Pork Loin with Broccolini


Ingredients

1 4-pound boneless pork loin roast, trimmed
12 thin prosciutto slices (about 6 ounces)
1 large lemon, very thinly sliced
1/2 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1/2 cup chopped fresh chives
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt, divided
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 1/2 pounds broccolini, trimmed
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup low-salt chicken broth
1 cup Pinot Grigio or other dry white wine
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Preparation

Place pork, fat side down, on work surface with 1 short end facing you. Using long thin sharp knife and starting 1/2 inch above underside of roast, cut 1/2 inch in along right side. 

Continue cutting 1/2 inch above underside, unrolling roast like carpet. 

Yeah, it's not pretty. I know. Amateur + dull knife = less than amazing butchering.

Arrange prosciutto evenly over pork, overlapping if necessary. 

Arrange lemon slices over prosciutto. 

Sprinkle with panko, then chives. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. 

Turn pork so 1 short end faces you. Beginning at 1 short end, roll up pork; arrange seam side down on work surface (fat side will be facing up). 

Using kitchen string, tie at 1- to 1 1/2-inch intervals. Transfer pork, fat side up, to roasting pan. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon coarse salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

Meanwhile, place roasting pan over 2 burners on medium-high heat. Add broth and wine; bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits. Boil until reduced to 1 cup, about 8 minutes. Stir in butter. Add cornstarch mixture and stir until sauce thickens, 1 to 2 minutes. Strain sauce into small pitcher. Season with salt and pepper.

Using kitchen scissors, cut string along top of roast; discard. Cut pork into 1/2-inch-thick slices; arrange on platter. Drizzle lemon juice over broccolini; season with salt and pepper. Serve pork with broccolini, passing sauce alongside.

Divide broccolini between 2 rimmed baking sheets. Drizzle olive oil over, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Place in oven and roast until tender and lightly browned, about 10 minutes, reversing sheets halfway through roasting. 

Position 1 rack in top third and 1 rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 450°F. Place pork on lower rack; roast 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F; roast pork until instant-read thermometer registers 145°F when inserted into center of pork, 45 to 60 minutes longer, depending on thickness of roast. Transfer to cutting board. Increase oven temperature to 375°F.

Cook broccolini in pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Drain; cool. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover pork; chill. Wrap broccolini in paper towels, then plastic; chill.