1. Buy Right
Go for flavor: Get a fresh free-range or kosher chicken; they typically have tastier and more tender meat.
Buy by number: A broiler/fryer (2 ½ - 4 lbs.) feeds three to four people.
Don’t get fooled: Farms often supplement chicken feed with lutein, which is a natural yellowing pigment that may affect how healthy it looks. Buy color has nothing to do with the flavor or health of the chicken.
Store it properly: A chicken will last three to five days in the refrigerator after its expiration date. If you freeze a whole chicken and the use-by date expires while it is frozen, it can still be cooked and eaten.
2. Prepare and Cook
Ingredients
Cooking spray
1 whole chicken (3-4lbs)
3tbl olive oil or butter, softened
Salt and pepper
1 cup water or other liquid (such as broth, white wine, or beer)
Directions
1. Preheat: set the oven to 425degrees
2. Spray: Lightly coat the roasting rack with cooking spray and place in its pan
3. Clean: Remove the giblets for the chicken’s cavity and rinse it in cold water. Stuff lemon or onion halves in the cavity. Pat dry with paper towels and place the chicken, breast side up, on an antibacterial plastic cutting board.
4. Season: Smear olive oil or butter all over, including under any loose skin covering the breast and behind the legs. Generously sprinkle with salt and pepper. Or Try this twist: Brush it with mustard and sprinkle it with herbes de provence.
5. Truss: Tie the two drumsticks together with string. Not only will the presentation be nicer, the meat will stay more tender while cooking. Then set it breast side up on a roasting rack inside your roasting pan.
6. Pour: Add 1 cup water (or other liquid) into the bottom of the roasting pan to prevent the drippings from burning.
7. Roast: cook 40 minutes, breast side up, until skin is browned. Remove pan for oven and, with a sturdy pair of tongs, flip chicken so the breast side is facing down. Roast for an additional 20 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into a meaty part of the thigh registers 165-170 degrees.
3. Carve and Serve
Step 1: Remove the legs: Slice through the thin layer of skin between the leg and body of the chicken. Pierce the leg with a fork and pull it away from the body until you see a thigh joint. Cut into the joint to remove leg. Repeat on the other side.
Step 2: Remove the Wings: Gently pull and extend the wing, then cut through the skin and joint connecting the wing to breast. Repeat on other side.
Step 3: Remove the breast mean: Cut vertically into the meal along the breast bone (the ridge that runs down the middle of the carcass). Slice horizontally along the rib cage. Repeat on the flip side. (When cutting breast meat, slice across the grain.)
-- The Nest Editors
Feb 17, 2011
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