That’s her.  Slightly mangled from my prodding and turning and perhaps not as brown as I would have hoped, but that’s her.  My first roast chicken.  A Christmas holidays project that fed me five nights and gave me a ton of flavourful stock.

It should come as no surprise to regular readers that I was very happy to receive Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything as a Christmas present this year.  I’m an avid reader of his Minimalist column in the New York Times, can happily watch his Minimalist videos like a regular television show and have been known to blog his recipes.  I thought I would venture into meat territory because it could give me some interesting leftover options (read: blog posts).  And yes, I ventured this way despite my unease with flesh.  Mark’s Simple Roast Chicken it would be.

Having never roasted anything more complicated than a turkey breast roast, my nerves quelled a little with the simplicity of the recipe and that it would only take about an hour.  What I love about Mark’s style is that he makes everything seem exceedingly simple and flexible.  The lack of rigidity in his recipes leads me to believe that even I could successfully roast a chicken.

As soon as the gentleman behind the meat counter gave me my little girl, I clued into why roasting my own chicken wasn’t something I did or was going to do regularly:  cost.  She was free-range organic and did feed me five dinners, but her same-sized rotisserie’d siblings were a few dollars less and didn’t come with the prep and cook time.  Nevermind.  She was a project and a challenge, which I completed.

Mark’s quick method is to hit your chicken with high heat initially and then turn your oven down to a standard roasting temp once the skin is browned.  His trick for keeping the breast meat moist is to lay the chicken breast side down for a good chunk of the cooking time.  I don’t think my oven actually reached the 500 degrees needed for the blast of heat, but I was satisfied enough with the colour and texture of the skin, as well as the moistness of the meat.  I probably will return to using pre-roasted chicken for ease, but there is something to be said for fresh roasted flesh straight from the oven.  Served with a simple green salad and some french bread with butter, merry post-Christmas to me.

Simple Roast Chicken
From How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman

1 whole (3- to 4-pound) chicken, rinsed and patted dry with paper towels
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons chopped herbs (rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage or a mix) or 1 teaspoon dried
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
Place the chicken breast side down on a rack in a roasting pan.  Begin roasting.  Mix together the oil, herbs, salt and pepper.
After the chicken has roasted for about 20 minutes, spoon some of the oil mixture over it, then turn the bird breast side up.  Baste again, then again after 7 or 8 minutes.  The breast should be beginning to brown.  Roast a few more minutes if not.  Turn the heat down to 325 degrees, baste and continue roasting until a thermometer inserted into the thigh reads 160 to 165 degrees.  Roasting time will be about an hour.
Before removing the chicken from the pan, tip the pan to let the juices from the bird’s cavity flow into the pan.  If they are red, cook another 5 minutes.
Rest for 5 minutes before carving.  Serve with pan juices if desired.

Simple Chicken Stock

1 chicken carcass
1 onion, sliced in half
2 carrots, halved
2 celery ribs, halved
1 bay leaf

Strip all meat from roast chicken carcass and refrigerate or freeze for later use.  Take all remaining chicken bones and parts, onion, carrots, celery and bay leaf and place in a large stock pot.  Cover completely with water.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a low simmer and partially cover.  Simmer for 90 minutes to 3 hours.  Strain broth.  You can add salt and pepper or wait until the stock’s next use.  Refrigerate or freeze into usable portions.  Refrigerated stock will remain fresh about 3 days.