A few weeks ago I went down to Portland, Or to visit with some friends and had several delightful meals. One of those meals was a roasted chicken with root vegetables. It was so delicious that I had to make it once I got home.
I started out by brining the chicken. I made a solution of 7 3/4c. of water, 1/4c. of apple cider vinegar, and a 1/2c. of table salt (near double this if using kosher salt). I stirred this until all the sale dissolved and then set in the defrosted chicken, breasts down. I put a plate on top of the chicken to keep it from floating and set it in the fridge for an hour.
Just before taking the chicken out of the fridge I pre-heated the oven at 375. I always like to let me oven pre-heat for at least five minutes after the oven thinks it's reached temperature - that way the pizza stone that lives at the bottom of my oven can heat through. I then got out a nice big casserole dish (about a 9x13).
I collected a bunch of root vegetables that I had gotten at the farmer's market the day before. I peeled and chopped into roughly 1/4-1/2inch chunks: four medium potatoes, three beets, one rutabaga, four small carrots, and one medium onion. You could also include parsnips, sweet potatoes, turnips, brussel sprouts - whatever's in season. I laid these out evenly in the casserole dish and sprinkled them with a little salt, a little pepper, and some herbs de provence.
I took the chicken out of the fridge, removed it from the brine, and patted it dry. I placed the chicken wing-side up (basically laying on its side) in the middle of the casserole dish - right on top of the veggies. I dotted the chicken with some butter and put it in the oven. I roasted it for 15 minutes on this side, then turned it so that the other wing side was up, dotted it with a little butter again, and roasted it for another 15 minutes. Then I turned it breast up, redotted it butter and stuck a probe thermometer into the thickest part of the breast (careful not to bump up against the bone lest it give a false reading). Then I turned the oven up to 450 degrees. I set the thermometer to go off at 155 degrees (the breast is done at 160 and the thighs at 170). I checked on the bird after about 20 minutes and turned it so that it would cook more evenly.
When the thermometer read 155 I took the dish out and placed it on the counter. I covered the bird with foil and let it rest for ten minutes. During this time the bird came up to proper temperature. I ended up with a juicy, perfectly cooked chicken and some amazingly tender and flavorful vegetables - they soaked up a lot of the chicken's juices. The liquid that the vegetables cooked in could easily have been reduced into a sauce, but I think it was fine as it was.
The whole cooking process took a little under an hour and a half. It was easy and delicious, and it was relatively cheap because I'd got the chicken on sale and the veggies were all from the farmer's market. I love autumnal food.
I started out by brining the chicken. I made a solution of 7 3/4c. of water, 1/4c. of apple cider vinegar, and a 1/2c. of table salt (near double this if using kosher salt). I stirred this until all the sale dissolved and then set in the defrosted chicken, breasts down. I put a plate on top of the chicken to keep it from floating and set it in the fridge for an hour.
Just before taking the chicken out of the fridge I pre-heated the oven at 375. I always like to let me oven pre-heat for at least five minutes after the oven thinks it's reached temperature - that way the pizza stone that lives at the bottom of my oven can heat through. I then got out a nice big casserole dish (about a 9x13).
I collected a bunch of root vegetables that I had gotten at the farmer's market the day before. I peeled and chopped into roughly 1/4-1/2inch chunks: four medium potatoes, three beets, one rutabaga, four small carrots, and one medium onion. You could also include parsnips, sweet potatoes, turnips, brussel sprouts - whatever's in season. I laid these out evenly in the casserole dish and sprinkled them with a little salt, a little pepper, and some herbs de provence.
I took the chicken out of the fridge, removed it from the brine, and patted it dry. I placed the chicken wing-side up (basically laying on its side) in the middle of the casserole dish - right on top of the veggies. I dotted the chicken with some butter and put it in the oven. I roasted it for 15 minutes on this side, then turned it so that the other wing side was up, dotted it with a little butter again, and roasted it for another 15 minutes. Then I turned it breast up, redotted it butter and stuck a probe thermometer into the thickest part of the breast (careful not to bump up against the bone lest it give a false reading). Then I turned the oven up to 450 degrees. I set the thermometer to go off at 155 degrees (the breast is done at 160 and the thighs at 170). I checked on the bird after about 20 minutes and turned it so that it would cook more evenly.
When the thermometer read 155 I took the dish out and placed it on the counter. I covered the bird with foil and let it rest for ten minutes. During this time the bird came up to proper temperature. I ended up with a juicy, perfectly cooked chicken and some amazingly tender and flavorful vegetables - they soaked up a lot of the chicken's juices. The liquid that the vegetables cooked in could easily have been reduced into a sauce, but I think it was fine as it was.
The whole cooking process took a little under an hour and a half. It was easy and delicious, and it was relatively cheap because I'd got the chicken on sale and the veggies were all from the farmer's market. I love autumnal food.
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