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Chicken is a staple in our house. We eat it in so many things and so many ways that we always have it on hand. I usually have boneless skinless breasts and thighs as well as bone in thighs in my freezer along with bags of cooked shredded chicken.
I’ll let you in on a little secret, I get my chicken through Zaycon when they deliver to our community. It is excellent quality and you can’t beat the price.
*Unfortunately Zaycon is no longer an option for Chicken. You can read more HERE
Sorry, I get so excited about chicken because of its versatility I sometimes get a little sidetracked.
Now, back to this absolutely delicious and easy whole roast chicken!
This is one of those dishes that is perfect not only for your family but also for company. People will think that you were in the kitchen all day creating this meal. Shh we won’t tell them that it really is only about 15 minutes of prep time.
I love a really crispy skin when I have chicken. I’ve tried several different ways of cooking it but this is my absolute favorite. The skin is crispy, the inside is moist and the drippings end up making an extremely flavorful pan gravy.
One of the tricks to this flavorful chicken is the spice rub. Not only does this go on the outside and inside of the chicken, it also goes under the skin. These spices mixed with a bit of olive oil will help to make that skin crispy and the meat moist and delicious.
This will help to crisp the skin and also keep clean up to a minimum with the gravy being made in the same pan. It also will help to make those little pieces of yummy goodness at the bottom of the pan that infuse the gravy with such flavor.
Sadly, I got so excited when I made this the other night, I completely forgot to take a picture of the chicken when it came out of the oven. By the time I had it cut and laying on the dish it finally hit me so….. here is the picture I was able to take at that point.
I’m telling y’all, this really is the best roast chicken recipe I have ever done. I’m drooling a bit just looking at these pictures while writing up this post.
Alright, alright it’s time for the recipe!
Please be sure to try out this super easy and delicious recipe and let me know how much you enjoyed it!
Make it a great day!
Tracey
Ingredients
Chicken
4 – 6 pound whole chicken, neck and giblets removed (go bigger if desired, just adjust spice amount and cooking time)
Rinse your chicken with cold water inside and out and dry well with paper towels.
Combine olive oil with spices in small bowl and mix well. Rub half of your spice mix under the skin of the breast side and back side. Rub the remaining spices on the outside and inside the cavity of your chicken. Using some kitchen twine, tie up the chicken legs and wings. This makes for more uniform cooking. (if you don’t have any twine you can skip this step)
Place your chicken breast side up in an oven safe skillet or roasting pan. Place in your preheated oven and immediately reduce the heat to 375 degrees.
Roast your chicken for approximately 20 minutes per pound, or until the temperature of the breast meat registers at 180 degrees.
Remove the chicken from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes in the pan. After the chicken has cooled, remove to a cutting board and let rest for an additional 10 minutes before carving (reserve the pan drippings in the pan to make your gravy).
While the chicken is cooling on the cutting board, defat your pan drippings by skimming the top with a spoon and reserving only the solids in the pan. Place your pan on your stove burner over medium-high heat, add 1/2 cup white wine. Reduce this mixture by about half.
Combine the cornstarch and water in a small mason jar or Tupperware and shake well to combine. Add this mixture to your reduced drippings and heat until the gravy has thickened. Serve over your carved chicken.
