These days, there isn't a roasted chicken recipe out there that doesn't come with some kind of catch to it. That's because this dish is to simple to mess up. As long as the average Joe understands basic requirements like seasoning, temperature, and cooking time, they only have to worry about making the dish stand out. One of the most basic ways to do this is to include vegetables (potatoes onions, garlic) and herbs in the recipe.

However, there's more to dressing the bird on special occasions and there's really no such thing as going overboard in this sense.

If all else, a chef can try wrapping the chicken up in strips of bacon like this recipe instructs. Throw in some variations and the real roasted chicken fun can commence.

Ingredients:

  • 1 large Willow Farms chicken
  • Kosher salt and pepper as needed
  • 1 lemon
  • 2 onions, quartered
  • 1 lb baby potatoes
  • 8 garlic cloves
  • 8 rashers back bacon
  • 2 tbsp dried mixed herbs

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 200 °C.
  2. Place the wrapped chicken onto a whiteboard and season it from top to bottom with salt and pepper. Transfer the chicken to a 9 "x 13" roasting tin and stuff a small handful of salt and pepper into the breast cavity of the chicken.
  3. Cut the lemon in half and quarter the other half with a knife. Stuff one half along with 4 onion quarters, 4 garlic cloves into the breast cavity of the chicken. Tie the legs of the chicken tightly together with cooking twine.
  4. Place the potatoes, the remaining quartered onion, lemon, and garlic cloves around the chicken and in between its spaces.
  5. Wrap a strip of bacon around each wing and leg of the chicken, trying to cover them completely with the bacon. Wrap the remaining four strips of bacon around the torso of the chicken and tuck the edges into its sides.
  6. Sprinkle the mixed herbs over the chicken, quartered onions, garlic, lemon, and potatoes.
  7. Bake the chicken for 1 hour, until the bacon turns brown and crisp. Remove and serve hot. As an option, sprinkle the chicken with more salt before serving.

Serves: 8 pieces

Variations

  • Roasted carrots - Add 4 quartered carrots to the roasting tin in Step 4.
  • Cheese stuffed - Stuff the breast cavity of the chicken with 2 tablespoons of grated cheddar cheese.
  • Roasted apples - Add 2 cubed apples to the roasting tin in Step 4.
  • Rosemary and thyme - Substitute 1 tablespoon of dried rosemary and 4 thyme stems for the mixed herbs.
  • Roasted broccoli - Add 1 pound of broccoli crowns to the bowl before tossing.
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