Summer Herb Roast Chicken Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F. Spray shallow roasting pan with cooking spray.
• In small bowl, mix butter, chopped thyme, sage, garlic, 3/4 teaspoon of the salt and 1/2 teaspoon of the pepper. Rub mixture under and on skin of chicken. Place chicken, breast side up, in roasting pan. Insert ovenproof meat thermometer so tip is in thickest part of inside thigh muscle and does not touch bone.
• In large bowl, toss carrots, potatoes and onions with oil and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Arrange vegetables around chicken. Pour broth over vegetables.
• Roast uncovered 1 hour 15 minutes or until thermometer reads at least 165°F and legs move easily when lifted or twisted. Cover loosely with foil; let stand 10 to 15 minutes for easier carving. Serve chicken with vegetables.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Season chicken cavities with salt and pepper. Dividing evenly, stuff with lemon, garlic, and sprigs of thyme and rosemary (reserve a few sprigs of each for garnish).
• With a heavy knife, coarsely chop necks, and scatter in a large roasting pan. Place chickens, breast side up, on a rack set in pan. Using cotton kitchen twine, securely tie legs together; tuck wing tips underneath chickens.
• Rub chickens with butter; season with salt. Roast, occasionally brushing chickens with pan juices, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of thigh (avoiding bone) registers 165, about 1 hour. Transfer chickens to a platter; cover loosely with aluminum foil, and let rest 10 to 15 minutes before carving. If desired, prepare Pan Sauce to serve with chickens.

Steps:

• Mix oil, thyme, marjoram, salt and pepper.
• Grate 1 t.
• lemon peel from lemon; add peel to oil mixture.
• Cut lemon into fourths; place in cavity of chicken.
• Place chicken, breast side up on rack in shallow roasting pan; brush oil mixture on chicken.
• Roast uncovered 45 minutes in 375 degree oven.
• Arrange potatoes, carrots, and green beans around chicken; brush chicken and vegetables with oil mixture; roast uncovered 30-45 minutes or until juice of chicken runs clear.
• Remove lemon and discard.
• Place chicken on platter; arrange vegetables around chicken; serve with pan drippings.

Steps:

• Pat the chicken dry; generously season the skin and inside the cavity with salt and pepper. Refrigerate, uncovered, at least 4 hours or overnight to dry out the skin. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before roasting.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Mash the butter with the chopped thyme and chopped rosemary in a small bowl. Gently slide your fingers under the chicken skin on the breasts and legs to loosen it. Scoop some of the herbed butter with a spoon; slide the spoon under the skin and hold the skin in place while you remove the spoon. Smooth the skin to distribute the butter. Repeat with the remaining butter.
• Squeeze a lemon half into the cavity of each chicken, then stuff the lemon half inside. Stuff 1/2 onion, 3 garlic cloves, 1 thyme sprig and 1/2 rosemary sprig into each chicken cavity. Tie the legs together with twine. Set a rack in a large roasting pan; put the chicken on the rack and roast 25 minutes. Toss the scallions, tomatoes, olive oil and a large pinch of salt in a bowl, then add to the roasting pan. Remove the twine from the chicken and continue roasting until the skin is golden brown and a thermometer inserted into the thigh registers 170 degrees F, about 50 more minutes.
• Transfer the chicken and vegetables to platters and let rest about 10 minutes before carving.

Steps:

• In a small bowl combine the chopped rosemary, sage, garlic, red pepper flakes and olive oil. Season generously with salt. Using your fingertips carefully work your way under the skin of the chickens to separate the skin from the breast to develop a pocket. Schmear the herb paste under the skin of both chickens. Use all of the paste and try to distribute evenly. Drizzle each chicken with more olive oil and massage the skin. The idea here is to lube them up like suntan lotion. This will really help to get a nice brown crispy skin. Sprinkle each chicken generously with salt. Truss each chicken.
• Place the diced veggies, bay leaves and thyme bundle in a roasting pan large enough to accommodate the 2 chickens without touching. Usually a 9 by 13-inch roasting pan will be perfect. Add 2 cups of chicken stock and season generously with salt. Arrange the chickens on top of the veggies in the roasting pan and place in the preheated oven.
• Check the chickens about 15 minutes into the cooking process, the skin should be starting to turn a lovely brown. Lower the heat to 375 degrees F and continue roasting. After another 15 minutes, remove the chickens from the oven and turn over. At this point check the level of liquid in the roasting pan. If most of the liquid has evaporated, add another cup of stock and return the chickens to the oven. When the chickens have browned on the bottom, about 15 minutes, remove them from the oven and turn them back over. Return the chickens to the oven for the final 15 minutes of cooking. During this time the skin on the chickens should be very brown and crispy. Remove the chickens from the oven and take the temperature in the crease between the thigh and the breast. (When doing this be sure not to have the thermometer probe touch a bone or you will get an inaccurate reading.) The thermometer should read between 160 and 170 degrees F. When cooking poultry in general the rule is 17 minutes per pound. If the thermometer reads less than 160 degrees F return the chicken to the oven for an additional 10 minutes and then re-check the temperature.
• When chickens have reached the proper temp remove them from the roasting pan, place them on a warm platter and cover loosely with foil. Let sit for at least 10 to 15 minutes before carving.
• After the chickens have been removed from the roasting pan, skim off the excess fat from the surface of the liquid. The easiest way to do this is to prop up 1 end of the pan and allow the fat to run to the other end of the pan. You may not be able to get all of the fat, which is ok-fat tastes good! Put the roasting pan on a burner, add the wine, bring to a medium heat and reduce by half. Add the remaining chicken stock and taste. Add salt if needed- you probably will need salt. At this point you can decide if you are a "strainer" or not a strainer, meaning if you would like to strain the chunky vegetables out of the sauce or not. I myself, am not a strainer. When the sauce has reached the desired consistency and flavor remove from the heat and pour into desired serving vessel.
• To carve the chickens: Cut off the twine. Pull the thigh and leg away from the breast of the chicken until the thigh bone "pops" out of the socket. This is also a sign that the chicken is cooked properly. Separate the thigh and drumstick. Remove the breast from the carcass by feeling for the ridge of the breastbone in the center of the chicken and slicing around the rib cage. Arrange the chicken on a serving platter or on individual plates with the mashed potatoes and gravy

Steps:

• Take any string or trussing off the bird and set in a roasting tray.
• Spread out its legs from the body so hot air can circulate around the bird and help it to cook more quickly.
• In a bowl, mix the butter, fennel and garlic along with a bit of salt and pepper.
• Mix well with your hands and then slather all over the bird's skin as well as a bit inside the cavity.
• Sprinkle the onions or leek around the bird.
• Place the chicken on the centre rack of a hot oven, about 210 C for 20 minutes.
• Baste the chicken and then turn the oven down to 180°C.
• Pour the wine in the roasting pan and return the chicken to the oven for 40 minutes.
• For the last phase, turn the oven off, leave the door slightly ajar and let the chicken rest for 20 minutes.
• By this time, you should be able to see clear juices if you pierce the chicken where the thigh meets the breast.
• I don't bother making gravy with this: the juices around the bird are flavourful enough on their own.