Rosemary Roasted Chicken
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At last, a chicken recipe meant be paired with a full-bodied red wine! I know, you’re as excited as I am.
Recently we’ve been eating a ton of chicken. I don’t know what it is about December, but I find myself craving roasted chicken on weeknights when I don’t want to do a ton of dishes.
This is a fairly simple roasted chicken recipe, which I found in a pile of recipes which belonged to my great grandmother, though she only seasoned the chicken with salt and pepper. With the addition of rosemary, it becomes a somewhat special occasion dish that fools people into thinking I spent hours on. I like to serve this over a salad of winter greens, with a light vinaigrette dressing (included below) and dried cranberries.
Ingredients:
- 1 whole chicken
- salt
- pepper
- rosemary sprig
Directions:
- Remove the fat from around the chicken and chop coarsely. In a small pan over low heat, cook the fat until rendered, about 20 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh sieve.
- Let the fat cool to room temperature for 1 to 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 425º
- Place a rack (think v-shaped) in a roasting pan. Rub the rendered fat all over the chicken and season the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper and rosemary leaves. Place the chicken on it’s side and roast for 20 minute; turn chicken on it’s other side and roast for another 20 minutes; then turn on it’s back and roast until golden brown, about 40 minutes.
- Drain the juices from the bird by tilting it in the roasting pan and save for another use*. Transfer bird to carving board and let rest for 10 minutes.
For A Simple Vinaigrette Dressing: place the pan with fat drippings on stove over medium heat. Add 1 minced shallot, 1 minced garlic clove and cook, until soft. Add 1/2 cup chicken broth, and 2 tablespoons sherry and bring to a boil over high heat, scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.
Wine Pairing
For this particular recipe, select a Rhone-style wine. This particular bottle has thyme and rosemary characteristics, which will pair nicely with this dish and any other's which have been seasoned with thyme or rosemary.