Roasted Chicken

From femalefoodie.com

Slow Roasted Chicken: Tips & Tricks

• One of the best ways to ensure your slow roasted chicken tastes delicious, is to buy a good-quality bird. Look for chicken that’s organic (no chemicals), and if possible air-chilled (not submerged in water, which typically yields better flavor) for the best tasting chicken.

• Remove the chicken from the fridge and salt it generously at least one hour previous to cooking. Allowing it to sit at room temperature will help the chicken cook more evenly and retain juices during the slow roast. Salting an hour before cooking will also help yield an extra juicy chicken with a beautifully crisp skin on the outside.

• Don’t rush things. There are plenty of recipes out there that are designed to cook chicken in an hour or less, but this is not one of them. Delectable, fall-off-the-bone chicken only comes from the low and slow cooking technique.

• This recipe comfortably serves 3-4, but you can easily double it. Prep two 4-pound chickens and roast both side by side on a large cookie sheet.

Ingredients 

• 1 whole 4-pound chicken
• kosher salt
• 1 pound petite gold potatoes
• 3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 whole garlic bulb
• fresh herbs such as rosemary and thyme

Instructions

• One hour before cooking, remove chicken from fridge and preheat oven to 325° F. Pat the chicken dry, remove giblets, season generously with kosher salt (including the inside of the chicken), and place in a cast iron skillet. Let chicken sit at room temperature for at least one hour (or up to 2 hours).
• Just before cooking, prep the potatoes and garlic. In a medium-sized bowl, toss the potatoes with 1 Tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, a dash of kosher salt, and a few cranks of fresh cracked pepper. Nestle the potatoes beside the chicken. Cut a garlic bulb in half crosswise, and nestle the exposed sides face down in the skillet next to the chicken and potatoes. Drizzle 2 Tablespoons of olive oil on the surface of the chicken and rub it in with your hands, making sure to coat the nooks and crannies of the chicken. Sprinkle the now oiled chicken with a generous pinch or two of salt and garnish dish with rosemary and thyme.
• Place the entire cast iron skillet with chicken, garlic, and potatoes in the oven and roast for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Once the chicken is half-way done cooking, carefully tilt the skillet towards you and baste the chicken and potatoes with the juices from the chicken, spooning the liquid on top of the entire bird and over all of the potatoes. Repeat this every 30 minutes until chicken is done cooking. Remove skillet from oven when the chicken is golden brown and both the chicken and potatoes are tender to the touch with the sharp end of a knife.
• Let the chicken sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before serving (and up to 30).