Tonight I traveled to the west and made Martha’s Roasted Chicken With Garlic and Lemon from page 383.
I’ve been looking forward to trying this for a while because I love roasted chicken! This was a different way of making a chicken for me. My usual style is to sear the chicken on a blazing hot cast iron pan with a little oil until the skin is golden brown and crispy. After the chicken is browned I place it in its roasting pan with some liquid, usually a strong ale and cover it with a lid. I put it in a very hot oven of about 450° – 500° for 15 minutes. Then I lower it to 350° and take the lid off after about 45 minutes and let it cook until it’s done, basting every half hour. When it’s finished I use the liquid to make a gravy. This all sounds very complicated, but it’s easier than it sounds and it always comes out juicy, tender and delicious.
I was intrigued by Martha’s more straight forward way of roasting a chicken. You need to start by roasting whole bulbs of garlic until they’re caramelized and fragrant. Oh, the scent of that roasted garlic makes your whole home smell heavenly! Then you squeeze the garlic out of their bulb and make a compound butter that you spread all over your chicken and under the skin. You stuff the cavity with lemon and herbs, season with salt and pepper and cook at 350° until it’s done, between 1 – 2 hours depending on the size of your chicken, basting occasionally.
So how were the results? Amazing! The skin was crisp with a subtle garlic flavor and the meat was so tender and had lovely hints of lemon and herbs. I really liked the roasted garlic. You can use these roasted garlic bulbs for so many things! Try spreading it on toast instead of butter. Not only is it healthier, but it’s sweeter and more satisfying.
As for how it compares to my typical way of doing a whole chicken, well, both have merits. I like the crispy sear I get from working the chicken in a pan before putting it in the oven. I do think this recipe rendered the chicken meat more buttery and melt-in-your-mouth tender. I think next time I’ll try combining both our styles and tweak it until it’s perfect. My favorite thing about cooking is coming up with new ways of doing things and trying them again and again until you know it just couldn’t get any better!
