Sometimes I’m a little lazy in the kitchen. Roasting a chicken is a good lazy-day compromise – perfect for when you want to make a nice dinner, but you’re too tired or unmotivated to make anything remotely elaborate. The food co-op where I shop recently started carrying two types of chickens from a farm in Upstate New York – one type is a young bird, perfect for roasting, the other an older chicken, good for stewing or for classic dishes that use an older bird, like coq au vin (it’s harder to find a coq – rooster – around here; maybe you’ll have better luck). The best part – the chicken still had it’s feet. I loved checking out the chicken feet – a little gross, maybe. But interesting nonetheless. I saved the feet in my fridge (yes, you should cut them off before roasting) and I’ll likely obsess about what to do with them for the next couple of days. My mom grew up on a chicken farm in Jersey so I feel like I’m bringing it full-circle. Next: chickens with feathers!

A quick note – I never, ever wash my chickens before I roast them, although many recipes call for giving the bird a quick rinse. You really need dry (i.e., no water) skin if you want the chicken to be nice and brown and crispy on the outside. If you do want to rinse your chicken, dry it very, very thoroughly with paper towels – or better yet, dry it with paper towels, then stick it in the fridge for 30 minutes to let it dry out completely.

Chicken with its feet

Roast chicken ready to be carved

Ingredients:
One 3 1/2 pound chicken (liver, gizzard, heart, neck, and feet removed, if necessary)
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 whole lemon, thoroughly washed in hot water if waxed
4-5 cloves of garlic, peeled
1/2 small bunch fresh sage
5-6 sprigs of fresh parsley
3-4 springs of fresh thyme

Special Equipment: roasting pan with rack

Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Rub the chicken’s skin with the olive oil and sprinkle all over with salt and pepper, including in the cavity of the bird.
3. Pierce the lemon in 5-10 places with a fork, toothpick, or a skewer. Place the lemon in the chicken’s cavity, along with the garlic, sage, parsley, and thyme.
4. Put the chicken on a roasting rack over a roasting pan (this will help the skin to crisp on the bottom), breast facing up. Roast for 15 minutes at 400°F, then turn down the heat to 350°F and roast for another 45 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 155°F (take this measurement in the thickest part of the bird’s thigh – the temperature should rise to about 165°F after resting). If you don’t have a meat thermometer, pierce the thigh with a skewer or fork. If the juices run clear, it is done. (Calculate about 20-25 minutes cooking time per pound.)
5. Remove the bird to a platter and tent with foil. Let rest for at least 15 minutes. (A quick side note: The point of resting a piece of meat is to allow the juices to redistribute themselves throughout the meat. If you don’t let meat rest, when you cut into it, all of the juices will immediately run out and all of your hard work will be for naught, because the meat will be dry and un-yummy. The temperature of the meat also rises a bit while it’s resting, which allows you to take the bird or roast or whatever out of the oven earlier, thus also avoiding dryness.)
6. Remove the roasting rack from your roasting pan. Pour all but 1-2 teaspoons of fat off.
7. Put the roasting pan over a burner on high heat, add 3-4 tablespoons of chicken stock or water, and bring to a boil. Scrape the little brown bits off the bottom of the pan using a wooden spoon.  Taste and correct for salt and pepper.
8. Carefully remove the lemon and herbs from the cavity of the chicken. Carve your bird, put the pieces on a serving platter, pour the pan juices on top, and serve.