Roast chicken or how to pinch a penny ’til it screams
March 16, 2007 by Heather
Heather says:
Here at Home Ec 101 we get a lot of questions on how to stretch those grocery dollars. One of my personal favorites is to buy a whole chicken. You can get a lot of bang for your buck with one of these, just make sure you don’t buy one injected with anything over 5% sodium solution; it burns me up to pay for water.
The chicken in today’s example was 5lbs and I’ll be using it for three meals, in addition the bones will later be used for homemade stock. It is important to consider seasonings carefully when deciding on the future use for the bird. In this example I have the original meal, chicken salad, and a stir fry. With this in mind, I chose not go crazy with an exotic rub. However, spice rubs can be fun and I will link to several of my favorite.
When preparing roast chicken, I first preheat the oven to 350. I then remove the bird from it’s packaging and give it a quick rinse. Some cooks claim this is unnecessary, but it gives me a chance to give the meat a good once over and remove any missed pin feathers. Never forget to remove the giblets! I don’t eat them, but some people swear giblet gravy is the only way to go. I’ll leave that to your discretion. We’ll tackle gravy on another day.
Slather the chicken with 1 - 2 TBSP of olive oil. Don’t be scared to use your hands and get all of the crevices. The fat is what keeps the bird moist and ensures basting is unnecessary. Rub the bird with your choice of spices. This example was rubbed with kosher salt and pepper. (I served the meal with baked sweet potatoes, roasted carrots and onions, and dressing.) 
Place the chicken in a heavy roasting pan or large casserole dish. Make sure the pan is deep enough to contain two or three cups of liquid in addition to the bird and any vegetables. Typically, I like to add potatoes, carrots, and onions to the pan. As a final touch I typically add a few slices of onion and a sliced clove of garlic to the cavity.
The vegetables will absorb some of the juices and a lot of of flavor from the chicken. Be careful to not overload your pan.
The bird will need to be roasted for approximately twenty minutes per pound. Check on the bird occasionally (with the light, not by opening the door), if the skin starts to brown too quickly, tent the bird with aluminum foil. Fold foil into a tent shape and place over the breast to protect it from direct heat.
Remove the bird from the oven and check the temperature with a meat thermometer. Poultry needs to be cooked to an internal temperature of 180*. It is important to note that the internal temperature of the bird will rise for 5 to 10 minutes after it has been removed from the oven. Don’t despair if the temperature reads 178, it will reach 180 before it is carved. Remove the bird from the tray and set on a cutting board, preferably one with a well around the edge to catch drippings.
If you had vegetables in the pan, check them for doneness and return them to the oven if necessary.
Enjoy your first meal. Let the chicken hang out in the fridge while you eat.
After dinner come back to your chicken. Separate the meat from the bones and store refrigerated in tightly sealed containers. I toss the remaining carcass in a large freezer bag and wait until it’s been joined by a friend or two before preparing stock.
Recipes for the leftover meat will follow, over the next few days.
Enjoy these additional ideas for seasoning roast chicken:
Blackening Seasoning (I use this as Cajun rub)
Why would it be bad to open the door during cooking? I have a burned out oven light at the moment! BTW - gorgeous bird it the pics!
You picked one of my favorite cheap meal. Roasting a whole chicken is really easy and satisfying, and it makes the whole house smell delicious.
One of my favorite things to do with the leftover chicken (or any leftover chicken, meat or fish) is to make fried rice. I will have to post a recipe when I do it with that half eaten steak I have in the fridge. Or, I can let it sit for a while and then send y’all the pictures.
Foodie, when you open the door, you lower the oven temperature and the element must turn on for more/extended periods of time. This exposes the bird to more direct heat than if if were left alone.
Hilary, we love fried rice in our house, as well. Would you share the recipe? We can skip the science project.
Your chicken looks divine, and has me running to the freezer to get one thawing for dinner.
Anyway, when I roast my chicken, I roast it upside down for juicy breasts, and put it in a tent made out of a seasoned brown paper bag. It helps the chicken to stay moist and acts as a self baster. Yummy. For the last 45 mins. to 1 hour I take off the tent and flip over the chicken to brown it nicely.
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Thank you so much for posting this. I am making my first roasted chicken with potatoes and carrots and this it the best advice I have found that is simple and looks delicious. I’m not much of a cook. I enjoy baking instead. Cant wait to try this out. But nervous at the same time : ).
I agree Heather, whole chicken is the way to go easy on your wallet. Curious, how can you tell which chicken has over 5% sodium solution injected in it? Is there a lot of chicken in the market as such? Do you have any brand names I should know of?
My mouth is salivating!
One method I’ve found to penny pinch is to avoid supermarkets.
At supermarkets, you can get around 5 onions for £1. At the markets down in Tooting you can get a big sack (that won’t fit in a rucksack). The herbs and spices are also less than half the price.
(I live in the UK, and don’t know if this tip works in the US).
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