Whole roasted chicken with ghee, herbs and sweet potatoes- butterflied for faster, even cooking. My favorite way to cook a whole chicken!
Hap-Hap-Happy Tuesday!
I think I need to think of a new intro to my blog posts than “Happy Insert Day Here”, but until I do, I’ll just stick with it. The more I do it the more it’s expected, right? Like a signature thing. Just like my ridiculous use of rhetorical questions in every post. Or just in life.
Do rhetorical question annoy you? Oh crap. But wait, no, I really meant that one. Answers appreciated.
Enough of that. Chicken time! May I dare say it- Best. Chicken. EVER. For reals, my friends. EVER.
I have discovered my favorite way to cook a whole chicken, because it’s so easy but its also so very flavorful. The ghee and the chicken skin and the herbs … it’s a beautiful trio. Mhmm. Add in soft, somewhat-caramelized sweet potatoes and life is good. Somehow, in the process of transferring those sweet potatoes to the bowl, a whole bunch of them went missing. I can’t be held responsible for my table manners in the presence of such perfectly sweet-and-savory sweet potatoes.
Don’t be intimidated by butterflying a whole chicken. I broke down a few of the steps with helpful step by step pictures to guide you along, and you won’t have any problem at all! It’s easier than roasting a chicken that hasn’t been butterflied, in my opinion. Afterwards, you’ll feel like you really have your kitchen stuff together, being able to butterfly and roast a whole chicken and all.
Let’s get started:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix together the ghee with the seasonings and lemon zest and set it aside. Place the chicken breast-side down and make a cut along one side of the back bone from head to tail.
Make the same cut on the other side to completely remove the backbone.
Turn the chicken over and press down with your palms to lay the chicken flat. Making a small cut on either side of the breast bone will make it easier to flatten.
Rub the ghee and spice mixture underneath the skin (the skin will lift from the meat on the upper part of each breast). Cover the skin on the top side and the underneath as well.
Place the chopped sweet potatoes on a baking sheet, cover it with a wire rack and place the butterflied chicken on top.
Bake the chicken at 425 for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375 until the juices run clean, about 40 minutes.
The chicken temperature will be about 160 degrees and the sweet potatoes will be soft. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes to come up to an internal temperature of 165 degrees before serving.
The skin on your chicken will get a tad bit darker than the one pictured, unless you’re running low on time for perfect picture taking light and have to take the chicken out a few minutes early. But of course, normal people don’t consider the sunlight when they cook.
In the case that you do accidentally take the chicken out early, only realizing it once you break it down, no worries. Just bump the temperature back up to 425 and bake the broken down chicken for a few more minutes until the internal temperature is 165. Your chicken will finish cooking, and the skin will get nice and crispy.
Break down the chicken, and serve with the sweet potatoes and a salad.
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