Perfectly Roasted Whole Chicken

For at least the first 15 years of my marriage I have tried to figure out how to roast a perfect chicken. I tried all kinds of procedures, and as everyone knows, getting that breast to end up moist instead of the normal dry, is NOT easy! Well, it wasn’t, not until I discovered this method. No matter what flavors you want to add, if you stick to this method, trust me! Foolproof,  perfectly moist, beautifully browned and oh so flavorful chicken! I will share one recipe with this method, to show how easy it can be using any mixture of spices, herbs or marinades.

So here are the basics to perfectly roasting a chicken, a sort of secret checklist.

1.     Rub should be pasty, not liquid, not dry. No need to marinade overnight.

2.    There should be a good bed of liquid under the chicken while roasting.

3.    Roast, tightly covered with tin foil, for 1 hour at 350F/180C

4.    Brown under high for at least 7 minutes on each side

Ok, so those are the basic laws to follow. Now here is my Paprika Lemon Roasted Chicken recipe so you can follow the procedure step by step:

Paprika Lemon Roasted Chicken

Ingredients:

·         2 whole chickens

·         2 Tablespoons finely chopped garlic

·         3 Tablespoons finely chopped onion

·         2 Tablespoons Paprika (regular or smoked, your choice!)

·         ¼ Cup lemon juice

·         ½  Cup extra virgin olive oil

·         2 heaping tablespoons salt

·         Dash pepper

·         1 ½  Cup boiling water

·         1 chicken bouillon cube

Now here’s how:

1.     Preheat oven to 180C/350F

2.    Place chickens, breast side down, on roasting pan

3.    In small bowl mix together garlic, onion, paprika, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. 

4.    This is the messy part… rub both chickens with this mixture, inside and out, over and under. 

5.    To whatever is left in the bowl, add the chicken bouillon cube and the boiling water. Stir until the cube dissolves.

6.    Add this water to roasting pan WITHOUT pouring over chicken. This is just so the chicken sits in liquid, but you don’t want to wash the flavor off the chickens.

7.    Cover pan with aluminum foil… tightly!

8.    Roast, covered, for 1 complete hour.

9.    Switch the oven setting to broil on high

10. Remove aluminum foil from the pan

11.  Leave oven door ajar, just a tad, maybe 3 inches. Broil each side of the chickens for 7-10 minutes, until you reach the desired brownness.

12. Take chicken out of the oven as soon as it is browned to your liking. Cover again with aluminum foil until serving time.

There you go! Moist and oh so flavorful chicken! Enjoy!