You now have time to roast a whole chicken! Hardly feasible when getting home from work at 6pm, or later. But now you can benefit from using the whole bird!
Don't be intimidated by handling the 5 pound, pale, cold bird! Once you do this a couple of times its a breeze. And delicious! You will need a roasting pan for it to fit easily in, and if you have a rack, it works well.
Advance prep work
Day before roasting: Place bird in your sink and remove the plastic covering. Take out the giblet package in the bird if there is one. Reserve for the stock. Pat the bird dry with paper towels. No need to wash the bird, this just spreads any bacteria to other areas of your sink. Sprinkle liberally with kosher salt and pepper. I mean liberally. (I prefer Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt. I put it in a container to use my fingers to measure, unless I'm baking! Get used to the salt you use. They are not all created equal in saltiness!) Place breast side up on a plate and leave open to the air (do not cover) in your refrigerator over night. This brines the bird with the salt, making for a more tender result and drying the skin helps make it very brown and crispy.
Day of roasting: Remove bird from fridge at least an hour before roasting to come to room temperature. This makes the cooking much more even. Preheat oven to 425. Rub bird with olive oil and sprinkle with more salt and pepper (don't forget the cavity). If you have it, put 1/4 lemon and 1/4 onion and sprig of herb in the cavity (aromatics). It is also helpful for even cooking to tie the legs together with cooking twine. If you have a rack, place the bird on it in the roasting pan with water in the pan (you will need to add more as it roasts so the pan drippings don't burn.) If you don't have a rack you can coarsely chop carrots, onions and celery to make a "bed" for the bird. This makes a nice addition to the pan juices!
Roast!
Pop the bird into the preheated 425 degree oven on the middle rack. (Note: This is the third rack down from the top if you have 6 rack spots in your oven.) The general rule is 15 minutes per pound of bird, so a 4 pounder is an hour, adding 15 more minutes per extra pound. I have found adding a final 15 min on top of that timing works best with my oven. So for a 5 pound bird, I cook 1 1/2 hours. (Ovens vary a lot during the cooking time. The thermostat goes above the set cooking temperature before shutting off and below before starting back. So its important to be sure the leg joint wiggles easily and when you take it out, and the juices are clear at the joint of the leg. )
Remove the bird from the oven and let sit 10-20 minutes. This allows the cooking to complete and the meat to reabsorb the juices released during cooking.
Carve and enjoy! (Roasted vegetables are excellent with this - I'll post my good friend Anna's Greek method for roasted veggies. We were just on vacation together, barely slid it in, and she made it for us!)
After dinner work: When all are full and you are duly complimented, its time for preparation of the second round with bird. Take the carcass and all the pan drippings and place in a freezer bag. Put
in the fridge to cool to be dealt with tomorrow because you are way too tired tonight.
Tomorrow: Chicken soup day! Or save for another day. Remove the carcass from the bag and pour rest of contents into a large pot. Remove all edible chicken (if any left!) from the bones and chop into 1/2 inch or so cubes. Save in fridge. Take the bones and break them up slightly and put bones and any leftover skin into the pot with the drippings. Add the bag of giblets you saved from the bird. I don't add the liver due to strong taste in the soup, but feel free! Cover the contents of the pot with cold water until about 3-4 inches above the solids. Bring pot to boil then simmer for 2-3 hours stirring occasionally and gently breaking up the solids. It will smell really good and the family may just want that chicken soup as soon as you can get it done!
Strain the broth into a large bowl. You can now chill the broth and remove the solid chicken fat when chilled. Or leave it!
Chicken Soup: Sautee in olive oil in large pot one chopped onion, 3-4 sliced carrots, 2-3 stalks celery. The chop should be medium, not too fine. Its good to get a nice bite of carrot with the noodles! Sautee until soft. Add broth. Be careful pouring in the broth, it congeals and comes out in a whoosh! Bring broth and veggies to a boil, taste and add seasonings (salt and pepper). Add about half a 16oz bag of egg noodles (they really expand!). Cook until done and then add the chopped chicken. If your family ate most of the chicken at dinner the night before, you may need to supplement with more cooked chicken. What I do is to add a package of chicken thighs to the pot as the broth is cooking, then remove when done. Take the chicken off the bone, chop for the soup, and put the skin and bones back in the pot to cook with the broth.
I have also made this with a Wild Rice Mix, good for those going gluten free! Add the rice to the broth and completely cook before adding the chopped chicken back in to heat it all up!
I hope you enjoy! And please email me with any questions. cathy@shelterinplacecooking.com