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Best-Ever (and Super Easy) Roasted Chicken and Potatoes

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Roasted chicken and potatoes–what more can I say other than yes, please! The weather finally cooled down enough last Sunday (sorry, the rest of the country) and I felt like I could turn on my oven again. 

I always think it’s a lot of work to roast a chicken and just easier to buy one already cooked at the market–until I make one and remember how simple it is! And the home-made ones really do taste better. You just rub it with a little with olive oil, garlic, salt and a pat of butter and stick it in the oven. It really is that easy.

And if you have any leftover it’s perfect for chicken noodle soup.

INGREDIENTS FOR ROASTED CHICKEN AND POTATOES
  • 1 chicken, about 3-3 1/2 lbs.
  • 2 TBS. olive oil, divided
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 TBS. Kosher salt, divided
  • 1 TBS. butter
  • 2-3 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 2 lemons, cut in half
  • 5 small Yukon gold potatoes, cut in half
  • 1 TBS olive oil, just to coat the potatoes
  • 1 tsp. Kosher salt

Preheat oven to 425. 

Rinse and pat the chicken dry–especially the cavity. Mix the minced garlic with 1 TBS olive oil. Rub the inside cavity with half the mixture. Put the lemons and thyme inside the cavity and truss, or tuck in the legs and wings. Place the bird in a large cast iron (or other oven proof skillet) and rub with the remaining olive oil and garlic. Sprinkle the Kosher salt all over the bird.

Cut the potatoes in half and put in a Ziploc bag and coat lightly with olive oil–especially the cut side so they will brown and crisp nicely. Lightly salt with 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt.

Tuck the potatoes, cut side down, into the pan around the chicken. It will be a tight fit, but that’s okay.  Put it in oven and cook for 25 minutes at 425 degrees.

After 25 minutes, reduce heat to 400. Put the pat of butter on top of the bird and move it around a little so it melts evenly to crisp the skin and turn it a nice brown color. At this point, turn the potatoes over to brown the other side.
Continue to cook for 45 minutes to an hour–until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165.

Take the bird out of the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes. While it’s resting, remove the potatoes to a warm platter. At this time you can made sides–I had mushrooms and green beans. 

If you’re ambitious (and not starving, like I was) you can deglaze the pan juices with chicken broth, white wine or both. But I couldn’t wait to eat and didn’t even miss the sauce. 

Load up your plate with the chicken, potatoes and your favorite sides and just wait until you taste the first bite. I’m not one to usually eat the skin, but this was so crisp and tasty I couldn’t resist.

Next time you’re craving good comfort food, make your own. It’s easy and really does taste better–especially those potatoes!

Don’t forget–read it first at Stu News.

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