Roast Chicken with Garlic and Lemon

I had never wanted to roast chicken after my hubby bought me an oven. Well, I had tried roasted chicken and turkey before and find it too dry and almost tasteless except of the skin. The other day, not knowing what came over me, I bought a copy of Women's Weekly. I used to buy this magazine when I was still working. I have since stop buying it for coming to 6 years. Anyway, I found this recipe in the magazine and since I have most of the ingredients, I thought I'll get it a try.

It's really good and like what the recipe says, the flesh is moist and succulent. Oooo ... and the garlic ... tasted so good with the chicken. Even my hubby who hates garlic said so too. Oh and the taste and smell of lemon ... hmmm ....

Try this for Christmas!

Ingredients:

• 1.8kg Chicken (I used a smaller chicken)
• 1 Lemon, quartered
• 30 gloves Garlic, skin intact
• 1 cup Chicken Stock
• 1 cup White Wine

Marinade:

• 5 tablespoon Olive Oil
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme, stems removed (I used 1 tablespoon Dried Thyme)
• 3 sprigs fresh Rosemary, stams removed (I used 1 1/2 tablespoon Dried Rosemary)
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
• Lemon Rind of half a lemon (optional)

How to do it:

1. Rub marinade all over pat-dried chicken, including the body cavity.
2. Place whole lemon into cavity and close cup cavity with a toothpick.
3. Place chicken, breast side up, in hear and oven-proof casserole.
4. Scatter garlic around the chicken and add chicken stock and white wine.
5. Place casserole on a stove and bring to a boil over medium-high fire.
6. Remove from stove, cover with lid and roast in the oven for 1 to 1 1/4 hours at180C
   
7. Check for doneness; juices would run clear when the thickest part of the thigh is pierced with a metal skewer.
8. Remove the lid, baste the chicken with pan juices and continue to cook for another 10 to 15 minutes to brown the skin.
9. Remove chicken and garlic cloves from the casserole and place on a serving dish.
10. Cover loosely with aluminum foil and let rest for 10 min to 15 mins.
11. Spoon away excess oil from juices in the casserole and adjust to taste with salt and ground black pepper.
12. Carve chicken and serve with garlic cloves and pan juices.

Note:

• To make the skin extra crispy, separate the skin from the meat using your finger or chopstick taking care not to tear or poke through the skin.
• Pour some marinade in between the skin and meat too.
• When roasting the chicken during the last 10 - 15 minutes, you can roast it on rack instead. Then you will be able the roast the whole chicken instead of only one side.

• Click HERE for printer-friendly version of an original recipe.