The Mensch Chefs Roast Chicken Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Place the onions, carrots, and fennel in a roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.
• Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes. Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Dry the outside of chicken with paper towels. Tuck the wing tips underneath the chicken and place into a large oven-safe skillet. Use scissors to snip off the tail, if desired.
• Generously sprinkle kosher salt into the cavity and over the back and sides of chicken. Tie chicken legs together with kitchen twine. Sprinkle salt generously over the breasts, coating them thoroughly. Wipe excess salt out of skillet with paper towels.
• Bake chicken in the preheated oven until an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into a thigh, not touching bone, reads 160 degrees C (70 degrees C), 50 to 60 minutes. Remove from skillet to a serving platter and let rest 5 to 10 minutes.
• Blot about 90 percent of the chicken fat from the skillet with a paper towel held with tongs, leaving the browned bits of food in the skillet. Place skillet over medium-high heat and add thyme leaves. Cook and stir until thyme is wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour lemon juice, chicken broth, and water into skillet, stirring until the browned bits dissolve and the sauce has reduced by about half, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Reduce heat to low, add cold butter, and stir until butter has begun to melt. Add any accumulated juices from the chicken to sauce and continue to stir until butter is incorporated and sauce is slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and season with salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste. Spoon sauce over chicken to serve.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Place the onion and minced garlic in the bottom of a roasting pan.
• Set the chicken, breast side up on the onions.
• Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoons of the salt, 1/4 teaspoons of the granulated garlic, 1/4 teaspoons of the black pepper and 1/4 teaspoons of the paprika on the chicken and in the cavity.
• Turn it over, breast side down, and sprinkle with the remaining spices.
• Cover the chicken with a lid or aluminum foil and set in the oven for 1 hour.
• After that hour, remove the cover and scatter the potatoes (if using) in the onions and cooking juice around the base of the chicken.
• Raise the oven temperature to 400 and continue roasting until skin begins to brown, 15-20 minutes.
• Using 2 large forks or a pair of tongs, turn chicken over so the breast is facing up and continue to roast for an additional 30 minutes, until the skin has browned and crisped.
• The potatoes should be fork tender.
• Remove from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes before cutting up the chicken to serve.