This recipe from the November 2010 issue of Everyday Food inspired me to try something totally new. I roasted my first whole chicken, which was an experience, to say the least. Apparently whole chickens tend to come with the necks and gizzards stuffed in the cavity, so I had to summon nerves of steel to take care of that... (I'll spare you the pictures)
After roasting, I discovered that my bird was upside down. I guess I was so relieved to get it wrangled into the pot, that I didn't notice that it was breast-side down before sticking it in the oven. It doesn't really matter, I guess, because the meat still turned out nice and moist. I don't think this will be my last roasted chicken, but I'll probably stick to chicken breasts for the most part, since I'm a white meat person.
After you've taken all the meet from the chicken, you can boil the bird carcass in about a gallon of water to make chicken stock. The beauty of making your own is that you can control the salt content. I usually add a palmful of Kosher salt, some ground pepper, and a dash of Italian seasoning. Boil the carcass for about 30 minutes, then pull it out and let the stock cool. For a low fat variety, refrigerate the stock and then spoon off the fat. Mason jars with lids make are an excellent storage solution, and the stock can be frozen and used later.
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