Simple Roast Chicken

One of my favorite dishes is always going to be a well-roasted chicken. Simple, yet countless variations. Recently I was delighted to get a locally raised chicken from Blue Pike Farm. Thanks, Carl! I also got a request from my friend, Jam Kimball, to make her a batch of  seasoning mix. She had the recipe but not all of the ingredients. Jan also had gotten chicken from Blue Pike Farm. I made a larger batch of the mix than Jan needed so I would be able to use it on my bird, too.

I wanted to be sure not to overcook the bird. Birds that are pastured and a little older than grocery store chickens are leaner and can get over cooked quickly. They also have a richer flavor. I didn’t want to obscure that flavor with too much seasoning, either. I ended up rubbing the bird all over with a little olive oil and then rubbed it with Jan’s seasoning mix. To keep the white meat from drying out I like to roast chicken and other poultry breast side down- at least for most of the baking time. I placed the chicken on a rack in a roasting pan, breast side down,  and placed it in a preheated 400 degree oven for 30 minutes.  Then I turned down the heat to 325 and continued cooking the chicken 30 more minutes. Because it is breast side down I don’t have to baste it and the breast meat cooks a little slower- keeping it from over cooking.  The bird weighed about 4 1/2 pounds so I knew it was getting close to done. I turned it breast side up at this point and let it cook for 30 minutes more.  90 minutes in all. Pulled it out, let it rest a few minutes and served it to my guests. I must say it came out just the way I wanted it to. Thanks to Jan for the seasoning mix recipe. Thanks to my guests that evening for their feedback on the bird- Carl Skalak, Kat Ro  and Jack Bornfeld. The meat was juicy and tender. The flavor was superb.

Here is the seasoning mix I used on the chicken.

4 t. salt

2 t. paprika

1 t. onion powder

1 t. thyme

1 t. white pepper

1/2 t. cayenne pepper

1/2 t. black pepper

1/2 t. garlic powder

Mix all together. Spread all over chicken before roasting. I must admit I like this combination a lot and plan on using it in other dishes.I could see it in chicken soup, in veggie dishes and I am sure it would taste wonderful on roasted potatoes.