{Kittchen Basics} How to Roast a Chicken

Greetings, and welcome to a new series on the blog!
You’ll notice there’s a new category labeled “Cooking” under the Newlywed + Food files! I’m really excited to bring basic cooking how-to posts to the blog because they’re going to equip us newlyweds (and brides!) with the foundation we need to have a healthy kitchen and life!

Personally, I didn’t start cooking until I got married and I had no idea what I was doing! I never learned to cook growing up (especially not healthy food – my family ate out a lot), but I’ve been giving cooking my very best these last 2 years; yet, there’s so much I still don’t know!

That’s where Kit, Editor of the Kittchen comes in!

Kit Graham is the author of The Gourmet Grilled Cheese Cookbook, and thekittchen.com, a food blog focused on original and practical recipes. Kit got married in 2012 and she lives in Chicago with her husband.

Kit is so kind! She created some YouTube videos specifically for Fit for a Bride readers, and is going to teach us some chicken-cooking basics! I’m calling her series Kittchen Basics (kitchen spelled just like the name of Kit’s blog)! She’s going to share videos demonstrating:

• How to cook a chicken;
• How to carve a chicken;
• How to make gravy; and
• How to make chicken stock.

Without further ado, here’s Kit’s how-to roast a chicken demonstration and instructions:

Roast chicken is a classic recipe, and one that everyone should learn. The video below shows simple step-by-step instructions for roasting a chicken. This citrus roast chicken with garlic is a crowd pleaser with lots of flavor. Leftover roast chicken can be added to sandwiches, soups and a wide variety of dishes.

You will need:

• a Whole Chicken
• 2 Lemons
• 2 Oranges
• 5 cloves of garlic – loosely chopped
• 1 crushed clove of garlic
• 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 tablespoon Oregano
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 cup Chicken Stock or Broth

Step 1:

Remove the giblets from the cavity of the chicken and throw them away.  Remove any other packing materials.  Rise the chicken in cold water – both outside and inside the cavity.  Pat dry with a paper towel.  Generously salt the inside and outside of the chicken.

Additionally, if you chose, you may loosely cover the chicken with plastic wrap and place in the fridge (this will make for a crisper crust later when you cook the chicken).  You want the water from rinsing the chicken to evaporate.  You can leave the chicken in fridge for up to a day.

Step 3:

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.  Then slice 1 lemon and 1 orange. Stuff the cavity with the lemon, orange, and garlic.  Use more or less lemon and orange depending on what will fit.  Then tie the legs together to help hold the citrus in place.  You can use butchers twine, or you can fold up aluminum fold and wrap it around the legs and twist together.

Step 4:

Place the chicken breast side up on a roasting pan.  Brush 1 tablespoon of olive oil on the chicken and then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Then create a mixture to baste the chicken with. Squeeze the juice from 1 lemon and 1 orange.  (Make sure you remove any seeds from the juice.)  Mix the juices with 1 tablespoon olive oil and one clove crushed garlic. Pour a tablespoon or two of this mixture over the chicken. Then place the chicken in the oven on a middle rack. After 20 minutes reduce the heat to 350 degrees.