Roasted chicken with potatoes and pan gravy

1 whole chicken, giblets removed

3 shallots or 1 large red onion

3 - 4 small lemons

1 lb of small potatoes 

1 stick of butter

herbs (like rosemary or thyme)

garlic

salt and pepper

flour

white wine

chicken broth

Special equipment: Roasting pan, string

Preheat the oven to 425. 

Just a note, anytime you are working with raw chicken, make sure that you wash your hands after each time you handle the chicken. 

This was actually my first attempt at roasting a whole chicken. It turned out really well and it was pretty simple, once I got the hang of things. 

Cut some lemons in quarters. 

Rince of the inside and outside of the chicken with cold water. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. pour salt and pepper in the cavity. Add garlic cloves, lemon quarters and rosemary stalks to the inside of the cavity. 

I ended up removing the rosemary because I was worried it would burn. My chicken was small and I couldn't fit everything inside it. 

Melt the stick of butter. Brush the chicken generously with butter. Then sprinkle lots and lots of salt and pepper on the buttered skin. This will make a delicious crust. I had some extra lemons cut up so I added them to the roasting pan. 

Set the chicken on the grate in the roasting pan. If you don't have a grate, you can set the chicken directly on the potatoes. 

Speaking of potatoes, cut the larger potatoes in half and leave the smaller potatoes whole. Cut up the shallots (or red onion) and add those to the roasting pan. I also added more cloves of garlic. 

Pour the remaining butter on the vegetables and add salt and pepper. Toss all the vegetables together so that they are all coated in the butter and seasonings. 

Add the chicken in the grate back to the pan. The juices from the chicken will drip onto the vegetables when they cook and make them delicious. 

Take a piece of string and tie the legs together. 

Put the roasting pan in the center of the oven. Bake for 1 hour or until the juices from the thigh run clear when you stick the thigh with your knife. 

When it comes out, it will be brown and delicious. 

BE VERY CAREFUL when taking the roasting pan out of the oven. I tend to forget that the pan remains 400+ degrees for a very long time after it is removed from the oven. I have several scars on my arm from past roasting pan uses. Hence, I'm a little crazy about roasting pan handling. 

The skin will be crispy and flavorful. So yummy. 

Using oven mits, remove the grate with the chicken and set it aside to rest for 10 - 20 minutes. This way the juices from the chicken will settle back into the meat and make it moist. 

Scoop out the potatoes and onions and set them aside on a platter. 

What is left on the pan is delicious chicken drippings. Remember, the pan is still hot. 

Turn the pan sideways so that it covers two burners on the stove. Turn on both burners. Keep in mind, the pan is still hot. And now you are heating it even more. So be careful. 

Sprinkle flour over the juices. Is the pan still hot? Yep. 

Whisk this into a paste and add a splash of white wine. Let it bubble for a bit, whisking the whole time. Should you grab the handle of the pan? Nope. It's still blazing hot. 

Add chicken broth to the pot, whisking it all together. Hot pan. 

Pour the gravy from the HOT PAN into a gravy dish or small bowl and set it aside for later. 

At this point in my chicken baking, my paranoia over the hot pan got the best of me and I put my pan in the sink and sprayed it with cold water until it cooled off and I could relax. 

Cut the meat off the bones. I concentrated on taking the breasts and the legs because those are the parts I like best. My husband also likes breasts and legs. 

I didn't worry about getting too much more of the meat off, because as you'll see in a post for tomorrow, I will use the carcass to help me make chicken soup, and the more meat on the bones, the better for the soup.  

On the platter, I started arranging the potatoes with the chicken pieces, but I got too hungry, so I stopped after the breasts. My house smelled like roasted chicken. It was time to eat. 

You can pour the gravy over the potatoes, the chicken or even over a piece of bread. I served mine up alongside some green beans. 

We both went back for seconds. 

Enjoy!