Mermaids Tender Roast Chicken Food

MERMAID'S TENDER ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325.
• Place 1 tablespoon oil on the bottom of glass pan.
• Thoroughly clean chicken, removing all excess from cavity.
• Put 1 tablespoon oil on a paper towel and lightly rub the chicken down with oil Salt and pepper the skin.
• Insert 1 tablespoon butter, garlic and some chopped onion into cavity.
• Place the chicken on it's back and insert one tablespoon of butter between the skin and the breast, for each breast.
• (You have to kind of pull the skin a little to get the butter underneath it. This is what causes the chicken to be so tender and juicy.) Cook for approx 2 hours, basting every 30 minutes if possible.

PERFECT ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Place the onions, carrots, and fennel in a roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.
• Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes. Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables.

CITRUS-MUSTARD ROASTED CHICKEN

Steps:

• In a spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle, grind mustard seed to a powder; transfer to a small bowl. Stir in oil, chervil, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and pepper. Rub over outside and inside of chicken; place on a large plate. Refrigerate, covered, overnight., Preheat oven to 350°. Place chicken in a shallow roasting pan, breast side up. Loosely stuff chicken with orange, lemon, onion and parsley. Tuck wings under chicken; tie drumsticks together., Roast 1-1/4 to 1-3/4 hours or until a thermometer inserted in thickest part of thigh reads 170°-175°. (Cover loosely with foil if chicken browns too quickly.) Remove chicken from oven; tent with foil. Let stand 15 minutes before carving.

BUTTERMILK-BRINED ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• The day before you want to cook the chicken, remove the wingtips by cutting through the first wing joint with poultry shears or a sharp knife. Reserve for stock. Season chicken generously with salt and let it sit for 30 minutes.
• Stir 2 tablespoons kosher salt or 4 teaspoons fine sea salt into the buttermilk to dissolve. Place the chicken in a gallon-size resealable plastic bag and pour in the buttermilk. (If the chicken won't fit in a gallon-size bag, double up 2 plastic produce bags to prevent leaks and tie the bag with twine.)
• Seal the bag, squish the buttermilk all around the chicken, place on a rimmed plate, and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours. If you're so inclined, you can turn the bag periodically so every part of the chicken gets marinated, but that's not essential.
• Pull the chicken from the fridge an hour before you plan to cook it. Heat the oven to 425 degrees with a rack set in the center position.
• Remove the chicken from the plastic bag and scrape off as much buttermilk as you can without being obsessive. Tightly tie together the legs with a piece of butcher's twine. Place the chicken in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet or a shallow roasting pan.
• Slide the pan all the way to the back of the oven on the center rack. Rotate the pan so that the legs are pointing toward the rear left corner and the breast is pointing toward the center of the oven. (The back corners tend to be the hottest spots in the oven, so this orientation protects the breast from overcooking before the legs are done.) Pretty quickly you should hear the chicken sizzling.
• After about 20 minutes, when the chicken starts to brown, reduce the heat to 400 degrees and continue roasting for 10 minutes.
• Move the pan so the legs are facing the rear right corner of the oven. Continue cooking for another 30 minutes or so, until the chicken is brown all over and the juices run clear when you insert a knife down to the bone between the leg and the thigh. If the skin is getting too brown before it is cooked through, use a foil tent. Remove it to a platter and let it rest for 10 minutes before carving and serving.