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OVEN ROASTED HERB CHICKEN

This produces hearty, flavorful, juicy chicken, perfect for a cool fall or winter evening. I roast two chickens simultaneously to make sure I have enough meat to serve 4 people, plus the leftovers are fantastic. I strongly suggest using a ceramic baking dish if possible. The ceramic allows for better heat induction throughout the whole pan and creates more even cooked birds.

This whole dish takes about 4 hours of prep, but is well worth it if you have the time.

2 whole roasting chickens of equal weight, I suggest 4 pounds each. Giblets removed and discarded

2 tablespoons of butter, sliced as thinly as possible into squares

3 Lemons, chopped into quarters
12 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 whole bunches of sage
½ white onion, chopped roughly

Salt & pepper, or a spice rub of your choice (I prefer to make my own combination of sea salt and lemon rind, but I would strongly suggest using any gourmet store bought seas salt/citrus rub for this dish)

Olive oil as needed below

FOR THE BRINE:
2 quarts of water
2 quarts of chicken broth
1 cup kosher salt

 Serves 4

1. Dissolve the kosher salt into the water and broth in a large bucket and stir together. Immerse both of the cleaned chickens into the solution and set aside in a cool place (garage in winter, for example) for 90 minutes.

2. Pour off the brine and rinse the chickens thoroughly with cold water for 5 full minutes. While you are handling the chicken, carefully peel and pull the skin from the breast meat, leaving the skin attached, but creating an easy to access pocket between the breasts and the skin. You should be able to slide your whole hand between the skin and breast meat when you are done, without tearing the skin. 

3. Completely pat the chickens dry with paper towels. Place the dried chickens in a pan in a refrigerator for 30-60 minutes to help dry off the skin further (you can do for it as long as overnight if you wish). This is the biggest mistake people make cooking chicken; DRY skin at the time of cooking produces the best quality skin, not skin drenched in oils and butter.

4. Remove the chickens and again pat dry with paper towels. Place them in their roasting pan, directly on the bottom of the ceramic dish.

5. Insert into the cavities of the chickens an equal amount of the lemons, onion, half of the sage (torn roughly) and 4 sprigs of rosemary for each bird, torn roughly.

6. Using the flap you created earlier, lift the skin of the chicken and apply your salt & pepper rub directly to the breast meat and all around the inside of the chicken. On top of the rub, but beneath the skin, place alternating slices of butter.

7. Apply additional seasoning as desired to the entire outside of the chicken.

8. Place any remaining herbs and vegetables in the pan alongside and around the chickens to create an aromatic base.

9. Preheat oven to 450 degrees

10. Roast chickens for 15 minutes

11. Reduce heat to 350 degrees, pour olive oil over the chickens and continue roasting for about 45 additional minutes. Since ovens vary dramatically you need to pay diligent attention to your birds. I rotate my pan every 20 minutes and begin checking the internal temperature of my chickens after 40 minutes. Once the meat thermometer indicates 165 degrees in the thigh or 150 at the breast, the chicken is done. I suggest turning off the oven as the chicken reaches temperatures slightly below those figures and allow the chicken to slowly cook to its doneness while also cooling and settling. (for example, once my chickens hit 140 at the breast I turn the oven off and leave the chicken in the cooling oven for at least another 10 minutes, then remove and carve).