Roast Chicken with Lemons
A 3 to 4 pound chicken
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 rather small lemons
1) Preheat oven to 350
2) Wash chicken thoroughly in cold water, both inside and out. Remove all the bits of fat hanging loose. Let the bird sit for about 10 minutes on a slightly tilted plate to let all the water drain out of it. Pat it thoroughly dry all over with cloth or paper towels.
3) Sprinkle a generous amount of salt and black pepper on the chicken, rubbing it with your fingers all over its body and into its cavity.
4) Wash the lemons in cold water and dry them with a towel. Soften each lemon by placing it on a counter and rolling it back and forth as you put firm downward pressure on it with the palm of your hand. Puncture the lemons in at least 20 places each, using a sturdy round toothpick, a trussing needle, a sharp-pointed fork, or similar implement.
5) Place both lemons in the bird's cavity. Close up the opening with toothpicks or with trussing needle and string. Close it well, but don't make an absolutely airtight job of it because the chicken may burst. Run kitchen string from one leg to the other, tying it at both knuckle ends. Leave the legs in their natural position without pulling them tight. If the skin is unbroken, the chicken will puff up as it cooks, and the string serves only to keep the thighs from spreading apart and splitting the skin.
6) Put the chicken into a roasting pan, breast facing down. Do not add cooking fat of any kind. This bird is self-basting, so you need not fear it will stick to the pan. Place it in the upper third of the preheated oven. After 30 minutes, turn the chicken over to have the breast side up. When turning it, try not to puncture the skin. If kept intact, the chicken will swell like a baloon, which makes for an arresting presentation at the table later. Do not worry too much about it, however, because even if it fails to swell the flavor will not be affected.
7) Cook for another 30 to 35 minutes, then turn the oven up to 400 and cook for an additional 20 minutes. Calculate between 20 and 25 minmutes total cooking time for each pound. There is no need to turn the chicken again.
8) Whether your bird has puffed up or not, bring it to the table whole and leave the lemons inside until it is carved and opened. The juices that run out are perfectly delicious. Be sure to spoon them over the chicken slices. The lemons will have shriveled up, but they still contain some juice; do not squeeze them, they may squirt.
How did I do:
Really well, actually. I closed up the cavity with small wooden skewers (which I remembered to soak first). I turned the chicken successfully (though I did briefly touch the roasting rack with my forearm and have a nice grill mark). I timed it correctly so that it was done but not over done, and lightly golden.
Lessons learned:
Big chickens take a LOT longer to defrost than I think. After 2.5 days, my 7+ pounder was still a bit too frosty, so I bought a 5 lb replacement. Today, of course, the big 'un is completely defrosted so it's getting cooked up using the same method.
The lemons provided a lot of steam inside the cavity, which assisted in gentle, moist cooking. They did NOT provide a lot of flavor. There's nothing wrong with that, as long as you know it going in. Today's chicken isn't getting any additional flavor either, since I'll be using it in multiple recipes and don't want it strongly flavored first. For that, this recipe is ideal. For company dinner, I would put herbs and/or butter and/or garlic inside and/or under the skin. In other words: I'd use another recipe to provide the flavor but this cooking technique with the lemons since I think it gives a perfect texture.
Conclusion:
This is a great blank canvas. The texture can't be beat, and the flavor is very good though not in itself exceptional. You can use the cooked chicken as is for recipes like chicken salad, or you can add herbs and/or garlic to the cavity before cooking, to add flavor.
Yesterday's chicken:
Today's Chicken:
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