Two Classy Chicks

My sling came off today, and I am so happy to be able to have more mobility.   To celebrate I decided to try out a technique for roast chicken I'd read about recently.  Now, admittedly, chicken isn't my favorite but this dinner was actually my choice, and it was great to use both hands to be able to flop these things around!

I began with a combination of olive oil, garlic, thyme and lemon juice.

Poured a bit of the sauce mixture into the roasting pan with a large yellow onion, sliced.  Then put the pan into a 425 oven to heat up the pan.

Meanwhile, I stuffed the squeezed lemons and some more thyme into the cavity of the (organic) chickens.  I sprinkled the chickens with salt and paprika (it helps in browning).

After the onions had begun to caramelize (about 15 minutes), add the chicks to the pan--this will brown the bottom of the chicken.

After 1 hour and 15 minutes, the chicken was browned, and registered 170 on a meat thermometer.    I only used the meat from one half of the chicken on the left for dinner; the rest will be frozen and I will use it for lots of other dishes in the future.  From these two chickens you will get about 5 cups of meat.

Served along with roasted butternut squash and green beans tossed with extra virgin olive oil.  The verdict: the chicken was moist (even the breast meat) juicy, and tender, so I think this high heat method is a good one.  Have a great weekend, we are expecting rain here while the rest of the country looks like it will be digging out from snow...where ever you are, enjoy the moment!

Roasted Chicken with Lemon and Thyme
Serve 8
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
One large onion, sliced
Two whole organic chickens, fat removed, washed in cold water, and the cavity salted

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  In a mixing bowl whisk together the oil, juice, garlic, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt and  the pepper. 
2. Pour 3 tablespoons of the mixture into a large roasting pan, and toss the onion with the mixture.  Place the roasting pan into the oven and cook the onion for 10 to 15 minutes.    
3. While the onion is cooking, combine the remaining salt and paprika, and rub the mixture over the chickens. 
4. Tie the legs together and place the chickens on the onions in the hot pan, and roast the chickens for 1 hour and 15 minutes, basting the lemon garlic mixture 3 times during the cooking process. 
5. The chickens will register 170 degrees on an instant read meat thermometer.  Remove the chickens from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before carving.  
6. Pour the pan juices into a fat separator, and use the drippings to make a pan sauce if desired.