Roast Chicken Dinner

Are you “Roaster Phobic?” Have you seem that commercial on TV? I love that commercial because I used to be “Roaster Phobic." Up until about a year ago I wouldn’t roast a chicken unless my husband was home to do it.  I’m not sure why it scared me to roast a chicken, but I guess I’m not the only one since Perdue is marketing towards people who are afraid of roasting a chicken. I just told my husband this past Sunday about my fear of roasting a chicken as he and I were preparing to roast a chicken for dinner and I think he is still laughing at me.

I always thought of a roast chicken as a weekend meal, maybe because it takes a long time to cook, maybe because I thought it was difficult to cook. Maybe the reason is when my mother used to roast a chicken, it was always served on a Sunday and we always seem to have company when a chicken was roasting. I’m not sure, but I have learned that a roast chicken can be a weekday meal. It takes no time to prepare and can cook unattended – sounds like a weekday recipe to me.

About a year ago, I faced my fear and now I wonder why I was scared. Preparing the chicken for roasting is quick and easy. Roasting a chicken that comes with a “pop up timer” couldn’t be easier and is practically foolproof.  I now realized it is easy to determine when the roast chicken is done; it is much harder to determine when chicken pieces or boneless breast are done and I cook them all the time. I wish all meat came with a “pop up timer”.

Roast chicken is a meal I can put in front of my family anytime and everyone will be happy. Since an 8 lb. chicken takes about 2 ¼ - 2 ½ hours to cook, I can put it in the oven and run around town while it cooks. After an hour of cooking, I can put some potatoes in the oven with it and have both ready at the same time. Gravy is another food item that scares me to make, so I buy the can or jar gravy and it is wonderful.

So is a roast chicken a weekday meal? It sure can be. You can’t beat the price. You can serve it with potatoes that have been cooking in the oven with the chicken and steamed or frozen or can vegetables, which cook quickly, and gravy from a can or jar or you can take the meat off and have hot, chicken sandwiches or add the chicken to a salad, or make paninis. (See )

Once it comes out of the oven, it can sit for an hour or more before you serve it and it will still be hot, so no rush to eat it. I usually get 6-7 servings for my family of four out of a 7 ½-8 pound chicken so there are leftovers. Leftovers reheat very easily or can be used cold in a sandwich. And when doesn’t a fresh, roasted chicken sitting on the stove put a smile on someone’s face? So I think roast chicken is a weekday meal.  What do you think?

Roast Chicken Meal

1 Perdue Roaster Chicken with the “pop up timer”

Season salt – (I like McCormick Season All) - or salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and dried parsley

Baking Potatoes – 1 per family member and maybe a couple extra to have with the leftovers

Jar or Can Gravy

Can Cranberry Sauce

Can or frozen or steamed, fresh vegetable

To prepare the chicken, remove the wrapping and remove the neck pieces from inside the chicken. Now my mother would cook those neck pieces on the stove with water and seasonings and make gravy out of it, but I don’t that, another fear I must face sometime. Read the packaging for the recommended time to cook this chicken based on the weight of the chicken.

Rinse the chicken well and put the chicken in a roasting pan. Be sure the “pop up timer” doesn’t come out while you do this. I use a rack in the roasting pan so the chicken doesn’t cook sitting in its own fat and drippings.The chicken is fatty and juicy enough.

Now brush or rub a little olive oil all over the chicken, legs and wings included and then sprinkle the chicken with a seasoned salt. If you don’t have seasoned salt, then use salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and dried parsley. Cook the chicken at 350 degrees and set a kitchen timer for the recommended time – 7 ½-8 lbs chicken will take 2 ¼ - 2 ½ hours to cook so set the kitchen timer for 2 hours and 15 minutes, or the least amount of recommended time.

Go ahead and run around town now for an hour or if you are not going to bake potatoes at the same time, you can run around town for 2 hours. A Perdue Roaster does not need to be basted.

When the kitchen timer goes off, see if the “pop up timer” has popped up. Whether it has or not, you now check the doneness of the chicken by grabbing a leg and see how easily you can break it away from the body.  If it easily breaks away from the body, the chicken is done.

 What happens sometimes is the “pop up timer” pops before the legs come apart from the chicken easily which means the white meat is cooked but the dark meat could use more time. White meat cooks faster than dark meat. If this happens to you, then just lightly cover the breast of the chicken with a piece of tin foil and continue to cook for the recommended time. Worst case, the dark meat will not be undercooked, but may not be cooked enough to fall off the bone, but it will still be delicious.

If the “pop up timer” hasn’t popped yet, put the chicken back in and set your kitchen timer for another 15 minutes. By the time the kitchen timer goes off, the “pop up timer” should have popped too.

Take the chicken out and let cool at least 15 minutes before you attempt to cut the chicken.  This will allow the juices to settle and not run out when you start cutting the chicken and cool the chicken enough so you can handle it while cutting. While the chicken is cooling, cook your vegetables. Heat the gravy at this time as well.

After the chicken has been in the oven for 1 hour, wash some baking potatoes and put directly on your oven rack. I like to rub my potatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper, but it is not necessary. These will be finished cooking when the chicken is finished.

Sunday dinner during the week or is this another weekday meal?