Roasted

I've always wanted to make a whole roasted chicken but never attempted it until today.  It always seemed very June Cleaver to me, but I wasn't in a dress, pearls & heels as I whipped things together.  Instead I wore purple scrubs and threw Cheerios on Reese's highchair so I could get the dang things into the oven so we could eat at a reasonable time.

When I told Mike that I followed Pioneer Woman's recipe, his response was, "big surprise."  Lets just say I make a whole lotta PW recipes!  Click here for the recipe.  I didn't follow it to a T since I used "poultry" herbs since they didn't have straight up rosemary.  My blend had thyme, rosemary & sage.

I made two so we'd have leftovers for whatever; quesadillas, enchiladas, chicken salad, you name it!  I think we're going to go with the chicken salad & throw in some grapes, celery & almonds or walnuts.  I read that the chicken roasts for about an hour & twenty minutes & every recipe I read showed different cooking temperatures.  I started at 500 for twenty minutes to get a nice, golden color & then I knocked it down to 425.  I was paranoid that it would burn, so I brought it down to 375.

I had no idea where to take the temperature, so I Googled it & found that it's between the breast & the leg in the thigh region which is the thickest portion.  The temperature should read 165 degrees.  Mine was a little over temp but it was still really juicy.  I let it rest for a good ten minutes before Mike carved it so the juices could settle.

I don't adore handling raw meat, especially in whole form like this; as I rinsed the chicken before work this morning, I imagined the poor little fella running through a meadow.  But, I quickly got past it & we enjoyed it along side a salad with homemade balsamic vinaigrette.