From Solo Lisa's Kitchen: Roast Chicken



Remember last week when I said that I was tempted to try roasting a chicken next? Well, today I present the delectable results of Sunday afternoon's culinary venture! Trust me when I say that this chicken was irresistible. It smelled so good. The skin was salty, crispy, and crackly, and the meat was moist and juicy. I started eating it. Then my family tried some. And they tried some more. By the time we went to bed, it was all gone--the dish that I thought would be several days' worth of lunches had dwindled to one drumstick on a saran-wrapped plate in the fridge.

My mom's reaction was probably the most hilarious of all, though. She's been so supportive of my culinary experiments and has tried to offer constructive criticism after each one. When I baked, for example, she'd say, "The next time you make the banana cupcakes"--and then a pause--"you shouldn't put so much sugar in the icing." With the chicken, she said, "The next time you roast chicken"--she paused and I braced myself--"you should make two. There's enough room in the oven and you have it turned on anyway. You might as well stick another one in there!"

I pretty much followed Michael Ruhlman's roast chicken recipe except that I brushed butter on the skin before sprinkling the salt on; I substituted regular salt for kosher; and I sprinkled black pepper on top. Because I had my oven set to 425 and I don't have a meat thermometer, I left the oven on for 1 hour 15 minutes to ensure the chicken was cooked thoroughly before turning it off.

This was quite possibly one of the easiest recipes ever and the results were so impressive. Have you made roast chicken before? Do you have a recipe you swear by? If you've never made one, would you consider it?

17 comments

  1. Lisa it looks PERFECT! I'm so impressed.

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  2. The chicken looks amazing! I used to have roast chicken every Saturday when I was a kid!

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  3. so glad you did the roast chicken! isn't it one of the best sunday meals to make? Did you also make some roast veggies to go with it? again you might as well since you got that oven on!

    One trick we like to use if from Jamie Oliver - boil a lemon and then poke holes all over it before sticking it into the chicken cavity. That helps speed up the cooking time as well as keep the chicken really moist and flavourful.

    looking forward to what you'll try next

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  4. Good job! It looks really good. I'm so intimidated with cooking chicken but I'm going to give that recipe a try one day.

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  5. Yummy! I don't know if I could fit one in my tiny oven but I'm going to check the measurements and save that recipe just in case. Thanks.

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  6. OH MY....YUM! I need to try this recipe for sure. I love roast chicken but I'm so inpatient for cooking with meats but if you say the result is that good, then it must be done!

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  7. wow the chicken is sooooooooooo sexy,, it looks delicious lisa..

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  8. Roast chicken is the best comfort food. When I'm bored and have nothing to do - I sometimes roast chickens.

    Thomas Keller AD HOC AT HOME is my fav roast chicken recipe. I can send it to you if you'd like.

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  9. mmm yes i roasted chicken before it took quite a long time but very tasty! btw, how do you create that 'category' list on the side of your blog? the function that allows you to filter your blog posts by category? if you could share that would be very helpful! thx

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  10. lisa, this looks so good! you're a natural cook! i love roasted chicken. it's so comforting.

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  11. Roast chicken is one of my favorites as well... one of the few no-brainers when it comes to cooking thankfully! (Actually most oven dishes are my favorites because of their simplicity). I think the simpler the dish the better, so I usually only season the chicken and add a ton of herbs like rosemary and thyme. So glad your mom liked it as well!

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  12. I've never roasted a whole chicken before...or I should say, yet. After reading this blog entry, I'm now really tempted to try. It looks delicious, Lisa!! :d

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  13. This looks sooooooooooooo tasty. I think I'm dying from lack of Western food. There's only so much kimchi one can take!

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