Mom's Roasted Chicken

My mother has always made the BEST roasted chicken.  It is probably one of the most comforting meals ever.  I could be down, homesick, ill or stressed and her roasted chicken can instantaneously bring me a sense of calm and happiness.  I guess it just reminds me of growing up and I was very fortunate to have had an amazing childhood.

The kitchen is the heart and soul of my family.  I am blessed to have been raised by two parents who have such a passion for cooking.  Growing up, we had a hot, home-cooked meal on the table practically every night.  That passion has been passed on to my brothers, sister and I and to this day, we are all still sharing recipes with each other.    

I actually posted this recipe as my second post ever but decided to recreate it with some new pictures.  I don't plan on doing this with all of my older posts but I felt that this chicken deserved better than the dark and gloomy pictures that I had originally posted.

 Enjoy your week everyone!  

Rinse all of the juices off the chicken and pat it dry with paper towels.  This will result in a crispy skin that everyone will fight for when it comes out of the oven!

Here are all of the aromatics to stuff in the chicken.  Woody herbs like thyme, oregano and rosemary work best.  As it cooks, these flavors will transform the chicken.   

Oh... and a quick tip to get butter to room temperature faster is to cut it up into small cubes.  More surface area helps it to soften up real quick!  

Put as much as you can fit in the cavity.  Also, don't forget to salt and pepper the inside of the bird as well. 

I always mince up some garlic and fresh herbs to rub all over the skin and meat.  

Rub the entire chicken with the room temperature butter, herbs and garlic. Don't forget to get some underneath the skin of the breasts. The white meat is dry so the butter will help baste as the chicken is roasting.  Season the skin liberally with salt and pepper. 

It also helps to truss the chicken with some kitchen twine.  When the legs and wings are tied closer to the body, they cook more evenly.  

Mom's Roasted Chicken
1 whole roaster chicken, 3-5 pounds
10-12 garlic cloves, peeled
1 lemon, quartered
3 sprigs fresh thyme
3 sprigs fresh oregano
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
3 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper

Preheat oven to 385 degrees

Remove chicken from plastic and rinse off with cold water. Completely pat dry with paper towel.   Liberally season the inside of the cavity with salt and pepper. 

Stuff cavity with garlic cloves, fresh herbs and lemon wedges. Reserve a sprig of each of the herbs and two garlic cloves to rub on the outside of the chicken. Mince up the reserved herbs and garlic. 

Rub the entire bird, including underneath the skin, with room temperature butter, minced herbs and garlic.  Liberally salt and pepper skin of the chicken.

Tie wings and legs with bakers twine so they are close to the body.  Place the chicken in a roaster pan, breast side up and place in preheated oven.  

About 30 minutes in, take chicken out of the oven and baste with butter and juices in the bottom of the pan.   The most foolproof way to know when a chicken is done is to insert a well-calibrated instant-read thermometer into the meat near the inner thigh (between the leg and the breast, but make sure you’re not hitting bone). If the thermometer reads between 160° and 165°, it’s done.  You can also tell it is finished by placing your knife between the leg and the thigh and the juices run clear. Total cook time for my 4 pound chicken was approximately 1 hour.    

Take out of oven when finished and let cool for 20 minutes.  After carving, spoon some of the juices over the meat.