As I was brainstorming ideas for this month’s recipe, I realized that I had never done a roasted chicken recipe before – the most simple “pop-in-the-oven” recipe that yields a week’s worth of meal preps. In my opinion, nothing beats a simple salt-and-pepper rub on beautifully roasted chicken. Don’t get me wrong, you can add other seasonings, I’m just going to lay out the basics of roasting a chicken — the rest is your art to create.
Tools:
- A sheet pan
- Paper towel
- Aluminum foil
Ingredients:
- Salt & black pepper (depending on the size of the chicken, you will need a 2:3 tbsp ratio of salt and pepper, respectively)
- A chicken (obviously)
- Grapeseed oil (enough to thinly cover the entire chicken)
- Optional: dry or fresh herbs, e.g., oregano, thyme, rosemary
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Using a paper towel, pat the chicken dry to remove any excess moisture and place it on a sheet pan. Since you are dealing with raw meat, make sure to wash your hands thoroughly at each step.
Drizzle a generous amount of grapeseed oil over the chicken, using your hands to massage the oil into the chicken skin. Make sure the chicken is evenly coated with oil. If you would like to add more flavour, stuff a handful of fresh herbs into the cavity of the chicken (some examples of what I would use are listed above). Sprinkle salt and black pepper all over the chicken. If you are using dried herbs, sprinkle it over the chicken alongside the salt and pepper.
Place the chicken in the oven for about 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the juices coming out of the chicken are clear, the insides are no longer pink, and the meat falls from the bone. Then turn off the oven, and seal an aluminum foil over the chicken. This lets the chicken rest in the remaining heat circulating inside the oven.
Let it rest for 20-30 minutes. Once rested, cut and serve.
This roasted chicken recipe can be paired with salads, sandwiches, rice, pasta — honestly anything! Like I said before, the world is your chicken (oyster, get it?) so, pair it with anything you like and enjoy!
