Herb Roasted Whole Chicken and Roasted Potatoes (Ree Drummond)

I have always been intrigued with chicken roasted with herbs and the name Herb Roasted Chicken itself already makes it sound so delicious. I found this recipe while browsing Ree Drummond's collection of chicken recipes. I love chicken and any chicken dish will get my undivided attention. And I reckon this would be a great dish to cook for a family lunch or dinner. 

This recipe comes from Ree's friend, Ryan, whom she affectionately calls Pastor Ryan. It looked easy enough. Just chop up some fresh herbs, mix them with salt, pepper and oil and rub this mixture all over the chicken. For additional aroma and moisture, the cavity of the chicken is stuffed with lemon, onions and garlic.

I did something additional that is to let the chicken lie on a bed of sliced onions and carrots. Gordon Ramsay mentioned this tip on his show but I can't remember what it is for. It made good sense because you get roasted vegetables with your chicken too. I had some carrots and potatoes in the fridge and they would not last for another week. Hence, I decided to let them join the chicken in the oven.

I simply sliced a big onion and the carrots and lined them in the middle of the roasting pan. And I let the chicken lie on top of the vegetables. As for the potatoes, I cut them into two and tossed them in a mixture of crushed garlic, dried rosemary, thyme, parsley, salt, pepper and olive oil. I used dried herbs because didn't have enough fresh ones. 

I did not truss the chicken and followed Ryan's method of making a cut in the chicken to tuck the chicken legs in. I also tucked in the wings and the chicken looked very neat.

The end of the chicken legs are tucked into a slit made at the side of the chicken.

Rosemary and thyme have a very strong aroma and quite honestly I find it too strong in their raw state. However, as they cooked in the oven, the smell became very aromatic as they mingled with the garlic, onions, lemon and oil. So appetizing!

My chicken was roasted at 180C for 1 hour 20 minutes. The potatoes were done after 1 hour. I originally set the oven for 1 hour as that is the usual time taken for my other roast chicken. I think this one took longer because I roasted the chicken whole instead of the usual butterflied.

I love the roasted chicken as it was very tasty and lip-smackingly good. And don't get me started on the accompanying herb roasted potatoes! They were so good eaten warm from the oven. I wish I had roasted more potatoes. As it is, I have gone totally bonkers with my carbohydrate intake ever since this Ree Drummond thingy started. 

This herb roasted chicken is a keeper and I forsee roasting this chicken again and again. Next time, I'll throw in some garlic cloves so that I will have roasted garlic too. Now, how yummy is that!

Herb Roasted Whole Chicken

Recipe source : Adapted from Ree Drummond's friend Ryan

Ingredients :

- 1 whole chicken

- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

- 1 tablespoon sea salt

- 1 teaspoon black pepper

- Juice from 1/2 lemon

- 3 tablespoons olive oil

- 1 whole lemon, cut into 2

- 5 cloves garlic

- 1 big onion, thickly sliced

- 1 medium sized carrot, peeled and thickly sliced

Method :

1. Clean chicken and pat dry. Set aside.

2. In a bowl, mix rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper, lemon juice and olive oil.

3. Rub the mixture all over the chicken, including the cavity. You can roast the chicken straight away but I prefer to let the chicken marinate for a few hours or overnight.

4. Arrange the sliced onions and carrots in the middle of a lined baking pan.

5. Stuff the cavity of the chicken with lemon and garlic

6. Place chicken on top of the carrots and onions and roast at 180C for 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes or until the chicken is browned and fully cooked. 

Note : After 45 minutes, I basted the chicken with the pan juices every 15 minutes or so.

Herb Roasted Potatoes

Recipe source : Adapted from Ree Drummond's Roasted Potato Wedges

Ingredients :

- 6 chat potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 each (or any potato that you usually use)

- 1 teaspoon sea salt (or to taste)

- 5 cloves garlic, finely minced (I crushed mine using a garlic press)

- 1/2 teaspoon dried roasemary

- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

- 1 tablespoon olive oil

- some black pepper

1. In a bowl, mix salt, garlic, dried herbs, olive oil and pepper.

2. Add the potatoes and toss to coat.

3. Arrange the potatoes around the chicken (if roasting together with chicken) to roast for 1 hour or until browned and tender.

I'm linking this post to Cook Like a Star, an event co-hosted by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, Baby Sumo of Eat Your Heart Out and Mich of Piece of Cake. The featured chef for the month is Ree Drummond.