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Shalom Y’all,
For Shabbat (Sabbath – Friday night at sundown to Saturday sundown) I made my favorite chicken dish using my favorite method of cooking whole chicken. Two whole chickens roasted to a gorgeous brown, served juicy and moist, the leftovers for another meal and then the carcasses made into lovely, rich broth. I prefer using roasted chicken (and turkey) carcass instead of raw chicken with meat because the roasted carcass makes a deep, rich, flavorful and healthful broth.
I usually buy fresh organic or local free-range or “natural” (with no added anything) whole chickens, about 4- 5 pounds each. If there is a sale on these chickens frozen I will buy several for the freezer and when ready to cook, I allow the chicken to thaw at least 48-72 hours in the fridge before cooking.
To prepare; I remove the innards (giblets) and the neck. I toss the giblets away (just a personal preference) and keep the neck to roast alongside the chicken (it adds a lot to the broth). You can roast the giblets to add to your stock if you desire.
I wipe the birds down and spread a little olive oil on the skin, then sprinkle on a spice mix, which either I make, or something like an organic Mrs. Dash with no MSG. I stuff the cavity with an onion cut in half and sometimes a couple of carrots, and place the chickens breast-side down on the roasting rack in my electric roaster. OR, I butterfly the chicken (oil and spice the same way) and roast it in my NuWave oven, breast side down. If roasting in the oven, I use a roasting pan with a rack or I make a bed of cubed veggies (carrots, onions, celery, potatoes) to place the chicken on.
Sometimes, I mix up a compound butter like Alton Brown’s recipe. I use this at room temperature and rub it on the birds instead of the the dry herbs and olive oil. It can also be placed underneath the skin before roasting the breast side. Loosen the skin first and when the birds are flipped over, carefully slip the butter underneath the skin. Be careful, it’s HOT! If the skin is not loose, place the butter on the outside of the skin and roast.
* I don’t usually brine, but if you do, you can still follow these tips with brined birds.
Whichever vehicle I use to cook the chicken, it is most important that I flip the chicken over (breast-side up) halfway through the cooking time and sprinkle with the spices or rub with compound butter. There is no need to use oil, the skin should be glistening with juices. I cook the chicken at 350 – 375 degrees for a moist, tender chicken, usually about 1 1/2 hours – 2 hours or until the internal temp reaching 165 -170 degrees taken at the thickest part of the thigh where it meets the breast. *The NuWave roasts faster than the convection oven or electric roaster, so cooking by temperature rather than time is essential to the perfectly-roasted chickens or turkey.
When the chickens reaches 165 -170 degrees, I turn the heat off and let the chickens sit covered for 30 minutes (for moist meat). I then carve the meat to serve and break up the carcass. If I’ve used the electric roaster, I put the carcass right back into it, without washing the roaster first (to pick up all those wonderful browned bits of flavor called fond.) If I have used the NuWave to roast the chicken, I place the roasted carcass in a large slow cooker.
I add the onion I roasted with the chicken and sometimes a TB or two of organic apple cider vinegar, some celery, garlic, powdered ginger, salt and enough water to cover by about 3 inches and let it slow cook overnight on Low. I let it cook at least 24 hours to extract as much flavor and goodness from the bones and bits of meat. Next I let the broth cool, remove the solids and strain the broth into a large stockpot and into the fridge it goes. I leave it untouched until the broth is completely cold and the fat has risen to the top and solidified, which at that point, I remove the fat.
Homemade roasted chicken or turkey broth is amazing to drink as is on a cold Winter day, or use as a base for many types of soups, or to cook grains or vegetables with. Homemade broth freezes well and keeps well. Some people like to freeze the broth in ice cube trays and place the frozen broth cubes into a bag or container kept in the freezer. That way, you can use as much or as little as you like.
So, we’ve had our roasted chicken, and to serve with it, I also roasted whole green beans in olive oil and Kosher salt and also roasted oven fries. In addition I served homemade whole wheat Challah and butter.
YUMMMMM!
What did y’all cook up in your kitchens today?
~~In Messiah Yeshua,
Vickilynn
Micah 6:8
About Vickilynn Parnes
