This Roast Chicken

(almost) Bites Back!
  • 1 4-pound whole chicken
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 3 TBsp oil (or margarine)
  • 2 TBsp soy sauce
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 tsp prepared poultry seasoning (or your own mix of rosemary, sage, oregano, thyme, whatever, etc.)
  • 1 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 500°.

Wash chicken, removing as much fat as you can; pat dry with paper towel, salt inside cavities, place breast-side DOWN on roasting rack. (If you don't have a roasting, you can take a length of aluminum foil and lightly scrunch it into a loose coil.)

Begin roasting breast side down for 20 minutes. While the chicken begins roasting, make your baste:

Peel and press or mince the garlic, saute this with the oil in a small basting pot (or small sauce pan if you don't have a basting pot) for about 2 minutes, add other ingredients, bring just to boil and remove from heat.

After 20 minutes, baste the chicken with a brush; turn chicken over (breast side UP), baste again, roast another 7-8 minutes, baste again all over. Reduce heat to 325 or 350, continue roasting 30 minutes, basting at 15 minutes. You might have to put foil caps on the ends of the drumsticks if they start to brown too heavily.

At 30 minutes, tip bird up to allow juice in cavity to run into the pan -- if red, roast another 5 minutes (juice should be clear). You may need to cover and roast another 10 minutes or so. With meat thermometer, check thickest part of the thigh -- it should be at least 160°.

Remove chicken to a platter to rest about 5 minutes before carving. The soy sauce/lemon juice basting give it a strong tang -- it almost bites back. But this is so easy, with things most folks have in the kitchen or can easily get, nothing special required.

To clarify, total cooking time should be about 1 hour:

Start: - 500°, breast side down

20 minutes - baste, turn over, baste breast side

8 minutes - baste again, reduce heat to 325/350°

15 minutes - baste again

15 minutes - check for doneness, cover if necessary, check temperature for 160°.

After basting the chicken, there was plenty of garlic bits still in bottom of the basting pot, with just a dab of sauce left. I added another tablespoon of margarine, brought it all back to a bubble, then poured it over a pan of Brussels sprouts! What a treat!

©2002 Ray S. Whiting