Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Best Roasted Chicken I've ever made with Root Beer Ice Cream


I've been making roast chicken for a long time. I always use Ina's recipe and I'm never fully satisfied. It always ends up tasting kind of greasy. I have an abundance of fresh thyme and oregano growing in pots on my deck and I thought a thyme-oregano roasted chicken recipe was in order. I combined Ina's with this other recipe I found online and here's what I came up with:

Lemon Roasted Chicken

  • 1 5lb whole chicken, rinsed
  • 2 lemons
  • 1 bunch of fresh thyme
  • 1 handful of fresh oregano
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly cracked pepper
  • 1 head of garlic
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Carefully rinse chicken with cold water. Take cloves of garlic from the head of garlic and mince. Chop half of the time and oregano (leave the rest to stuff inside the cavity.) Mix minced garlic with the juice from the lemons, chopped thyme, chopped oregano, and olive oil. Rub evenly over the entire bird. Carefully, lift the skin over the breasts and rub the mixture directly on the breast meat. Next, sprinkle the salt and pepper all over the entire bird. Salt and pepper the inside of the chicken as well. Place the lemon rinds, remaining thyme (including stems) and remaining oregano inside the cavity of the chicken along with the rest of the garlic head, sliced in half, cross-ways.

Place chicken on a rack inside dish. Truss the chicken. Place the meat thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh, making sure not to touch bone. Roast uncovered for 1 1/2 hours or until thermometer reads 170 degrees. I start basting the bird after 2 hours and repeat every 1/2 an hour after that. If you want crispy skin, stop basting for the last hour of cooking time. Remove from the oven and let the bird "rest" for at least 10 minutes before carving. Enjoy!

The root beer ice cream wasn't available for photographs due to the fact that it was consumed much too quickly by the four of us. I got the idea from Natalie and Ray and I am forever in their debt because of it!

Root Beer Ice Cream

2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup half and half
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2-3/4 tsp root beer extract (taste as you add. You want it to be just right!)

Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended, about 1 minute more. Pour in the cream, half and half, milk and extracts and whisk to blend.

Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacturer's directions.

2 comments:

Natalie said...

The root beer ice cream is a definite diet breaker!!! I can't wait to try the chicken!
Have I mentioned I LOVE your blog?

Melody said...

Oh yum! I have some questions.
I actually made almost this exact thing this week, but mine didn't turn out like this! I am pretty impressed that I used almost all the same ingredients (rosemary instead of oregano.. but the rest the same) (but not nearly enough garlic) I just put everything in the cavity though and didn't rub anything on the outside.. duh! (now I know.. thank you!) Also, I didn't baste, and next time I will. Here's my question.. I had juice up to the brim of my casserole after it cooked for 2 hours uncovered. Did you too? It was good, but the skin wasn't crispy and even with all the juice, the chicken was not that flavorful. I'll definitely follow your directions next time. Any suggestions about the juice?
Ice cream maker just got moved up on my wish list. mmmm
miss you girl.

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