Sunday Roast Chicken

My mother never followed a recipe. She learned to cook from her mother and, while she was never passionate about cooking, she had a repertoire of tasty dishes that were easy to prepare and that kept everyone happy. But of all the dishes she made, my favorite was her roast chicken.

And like my mother, and her mother before her, and Julia Child, by the way, I completely adore simple roast chicken and count it among my favorite dishes. Although I don’t make my chicken exactly the way my mother did, this recipe evokes the same sense of great flavor and succulence that my Mom’s chicken had.

It goes without saying that you have to start with the best-quality chicken you can find. I particularly like the air-chilled chickens available at my local food store, but there are many excellent-quality, farm-fresh chickens available today, so do a little research and find the best ones in your area.

Although my mother made her chicken in a midnight blue enamel pan with white speckles, I make mine in a shallow stainless steel roasting pan. I often use a half sheet pan, also called a baking sheet (see photo), which I use for most oven roasting. It’s best to place a rack inside your pan so the chicken doesn’t sit in the drippings that accumulate while it’s cooking.

As for side dishes, my Mother usually added chopped onions, carrots and celery to her roasting pan and then served them along with the chicken. I also make a point of serving lots of vegetables with chicken, usually something roasted (e.g., fennel, squash, onions), something sautéed and green (e.g., spinach, kale, chard) and something starchy (e.g., new potatoes, sweet potatoes).

As for wine, virtually any good red or white wine complements chicken. At our home, we love to accompany chicken with a well-aged Chateauneuf du Pape, Cotes du Rhone, French Bordeaux or California Cabernet.

The following recipe is for one chicken, but I often make two or even three, especially when I have guests at our table. If there are leftovers, either reheat the next day, or turn the roasted chicken into soup and serve with rice or pasta.

Here’s the recipe.

Photography by Jim White