So not having dinner planned the other night, I ran across a whole chicken marked way down in price at the supermarket. I decided there and then that I would make a roast chicken for dinner. The usual problem with roast chicken? — you want to eat before 9:00 at night, but you want your chicken actually cooked.
One of my favourite recipes is a la Zuma Grill, where you cook the chicken at really high heat for 15 minutes per side, rotating on all four sides, however, this takes a bit more effort and attention than I’m willing to spend on a bleary weekday evening.
Well, never fear, weekday roast chicken dinner is here, and it doesn’t require any special equipment, or kitchen gadgets other than a pair of sharp kitchen shears, and requires a minimal amount of effort and attention. You will even have time to make yourself a cocktail!
So, it’s quarter to 6 and you haven’t started dinner. But, you still want roast chicken! Buckle up, here we go!
step 1: preheat the oven to 400 degrees (this also works at 425 if you want to shave a bit of time off).
step 2: Cut the backbone out of the chicken with the shears. Mind your fingers! Flatten out the chicken, pressing down on the breastbone to crack it.
step 3: Season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides and plop it in a pan — a regular 9 x 13 baking dish will do it, you don’t even need a fancy roasting pan. If you like more spices, add them (hey, its your chicken dinner!). Drizzle with a bit of olive oil.
step 4: This shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes. Oven should be hot enough now. Put the pan in the oven, and turn the timer on for 30 minutes. If you want vegetables, you can get them started now.
step 5: when the timer goes off, take the chicken’s temperature. You are aiming for 165 degrees at the thickest part of the thigh. Mine was 140 degrees at this point. Back in for another 10-15 minutes!.
step 6: Make yourself a cocktail if you like (I had a Cosmopolitan). Start the vegetables cooking.
step 7: 15 minutes later, take the chicken out of the oven. One leg per person, or one breast per person. This puppy should serve 4, or 2 with lots of leftovers.
Happy eating!