Roasting two chickens over the weekend is the best way to get ahead for the week. I am currently on the paleo diet – I have cut out most carbs, sugar, alcohol, and dairy (other than butter and a tiny bit of cheese in salads). The diet focuses on eating lean proteins, fruits, vegetables, and nuts. It’s super strict, but it works. Willpower is an exhaustible resource, and making decisions – including deciding what to eat, is exhausting. I have been making big batches of food on the weekend so that dinner is already made on weeknights, and I don’t have to decide what to eat. If the decision is already made, and the food is ready, it is so much easier to stick with a diet.
Last Saturday I made two Lemon Garlic Roast Chickens. I often make roast chickens two at a time so that I can use one to make soup. (More on that later). I kept the seasoning on the chickens simple. I generously sprinkled salt and pepper inside the cavities stuffed them with garlic and lemon slices, slathered them in butter, and sprinkled salt, pepper, and basil over the top. Before I seasoned the chickens, I rinsed them, dried them with paper towels, and then let them come to room temperature. This is part of Thomas Keller’s method of roasting chicken, which I tried several months ago. The theory is that letting the chicken come to room temperature lets it cook faster, and it dries out the skin making it crispier. I liked the Keller technique, but thought that the taste was bland (it was only seasoned with salt and pepper), so I added my own seasonings to Keller’s technique and I think it is a winning combination. The chicken was very tender and juicy and it had a nice lemon garlic flavor. I made gravy from the drippings and it was fantastic.
Making roast chicken was also a perfect excuse to use my favorite new kitchen toy, an iDevices Kitchen Thermometer. When I was in Birmingham a few weeks ago with 7 other food bloggers, I asked everyone what their favorite kitchen tool was. One woman immediately responded that she loved her kitchen thermometer that measures the temperature of the food as it cooks. Several people chimed in to agree, and I felt foolish for not owning one. And just as I was about to buy a thermometer, iDevices offered to send me one. Perfect timing. The iDevice thermometer is a sophisticated piece of technology, that’s really user friendly. The coolest part is that it is Bluetooth enabled, and they have an app. So while you are sipping a drink on your rooftop, you can track the exact temperature of the meat you are cooking. The app will even alert you 10 degrees before the meat is ready. Seriously, this little tool is going to prevent me from running up and down from the roof to check on dinner in the oven. And, iDevice is generously letting me give away a Kitchen Thermometer to one of my readers – check my instagram account at 8:30pm for entry details.
Calories
Fat
Carbs
Protein
Kit Graham
Yields 4
15 minPrep Time
2 hrCook Time
2 hr, 15 Total Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- 2 Whole Chickens
- 4 Lemons
- 8 cloves of Garlic
- 4 tablespoons of Butter
- 1 teaSalt
- Pepper
- Basil
Instructions
- Remove the giblets from the cavity of the bird. Then rinse off the inside and outside of the chickens. Pat dry with paper towels. Let the chicken come to room temperature. This will take 60-90 minutes.
- Take the butter out of the fridge and let it come to room temp. Slice three of the lemons into wedges. Squeeze the juice from the third.
- Once the chickens are at room temperature, heat your oven to 450 degrees. Generously sprinkle the inside of the cavities with salt and pepper. Fill the cavities of the chicken with the garlic and lemon slices. Then tie the legs of the chicken together with butchers twine or aluminum foil.
- Place the chicken in a roasting pan breast-side-up. Then spread 1/2 tablespoon of butter between the breast and skin of the chicken.
- Spread the remaining butter all over the chickens. Then sprinkle generously with salt, pepper, and dried basil.
- Insert your iDevice Kitchen Thermometer into the thick meaty area of the chicken just above the drumstick. Place the chicken in the oven heated to 450 degrees. Cook until the chicken reaches 165 degrees. I cooked a 6 pound chicken and this took about 75 minutes. Check on the chicken after an hour, and cover it with aluminum foil if the skin is starting to get too crisp.
- Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before carving. Make gravy with the drippings while the chicken is resting.
This post was sponsored by iDevices, as always my opinions are my own, and I only write about products that I genuinely think my readers will love.