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Today’s roasted chicken recipe can’t come your way without a story behind it, and oh what a story it is!
Over Christmas break, Matt and I took the Boys to a place called Medieval Times. When I first heard of this place I knew that my kids would love it. My oldest is slightly obsessed with all things Medieval and Greek/Roman. The catch with this dinner show is that your food is served to you with NO utensils! They want to stay true to what a medieval period meal may have been like so that means eating meat, on the bone, with your hands. Well, anyone that knows me knows that is something I don’t enjoy. BUT, I was determined to enjoy this and enjoy it I did. The show was a tad cheesy, the food was actually pretty good and all in all we had a great time. I would highly recommend going at least once.
The funny thing is when I ask my family what they enjoyed the most they say the show of course, but they really liked the CHICKEN that was served. Our “Wench” called it a Baby Dragon, much to Jacob’s chagrin. He is in a real “meat is murder” phase.
So here is a great roasted chicken recipe.
It is super easy and is really good. You could use a whole cut up chicken or 4 chicken quarters. Whatever you prefer.
If you’re looking for something special to serve with the chicken, you should also check out my sausage and rice casserole recipe.
For dessert, I recommend Blueberry-Peach Honey Wine Galette or Country Apple Pie. Both recipes will pair very well with a rustic chicken dinner.
I’m making this roasted chicken recipe on Sunday, which should please all of my Knights.
Total Servings 6
A delicious herb roasted chicken recipe that your entire family will love, complete with pan gravy!
15 minPrep (inc. refrigeration & rest time)
60 minCook Time
1 hr, 15 Total Time
Ingredients
-
For the Herb Butter
- 5 3-inch sprigs of thyme
- 1 3-inch sprig rosemary
- 5 fresh sage leaves
- 1 shallot, peeled and finely chopped
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 3 tablespoons room temperature unsalted butter
-
For the Chicken
- 6 shallots, peeled and halved
- 1 whole head garlic, clean, unpeeled and cut in half horizontally
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 chicken, 4 – 4 1/2 pounds, cut into pieces
- Herb butter see recipe above
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
-
For the Sauce
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken stock or broth
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Make the herb butter
- Pull herbs from stems and chop finely. Combine chopped herbs, shallots, lemon zest, honey and butter in small bowl and blend well. Set aside.
- Prepare the chicken
- Place shallots and garlic in roasting pan and toss with olive oil (it’s okay if the garlic breaks apart a bit).
- Pat chicken VERY dry with paper towels (this will help the skin to crisp) and place in roasting pan. Do not crowd. Rub herb butter all over chicken and under the skin too (if you don’t eat the skin, rub a lot of it underneath!). Sprinkle kosher salt evenly all over chicken and season with fresh pepper.
- Place chicken in oven and roast for 35-40 minutes, or until skin is golden brown. Turn heat down to 375 degrees; continue to roast for 15-20 minutes more, or until done. Chicken should be done in less than an hour; do not overcook.
- Transfer chicken and shallots to serving platter to rest and cover with foil. Discard garlic. Pour off all the fat, leaving the brown baked-on bits in the bottom of the roasting pan. Add chicken stock and place on the stove over high heat; bring to a boil and whisk in Dijon mustard. Using whisk or wooden spoon, stir up and combine the brown bits with the stock and continue to cook until liquid is reduced by half, about 5-8 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in butter.
- Pour sauce into gravy boat and serve alongside chicken. (If you want to get fancy, you can strain the gravy but I never bother.)
Enjoy!
