Jamie Oliver’s Lemon Roast Chicken

Last night’s culinary experiment was Jamie Oliver’s Lemon Roast Chicken, as inspired by the gorgeous photo on this blog post. (I didn’t get a chance to take a photo of mine before we tore it apart!) I splurged on a free-range, organic chicken from the butcher. In the morning before work, I gave it a rinse, patted it dry, and rubbed it with salt and pepper. (This wasn’t easy. For some reason, whole raw chickens give me the heebie-jeebies. I’m fine with cut up chickens and with other joints of meat, but somehow picking up a whole chicken makes my skin crawl a little bit. I mean, once it’s cooked it’s a beautiful roast and I’m fine with that, but when it’s raw I’m just acutely aware that it’s a DEAD BIRD CARCASS, and I hate birds.) Anyway, I left it in the fridge all day to, I dunno, brine or something. When I got home, I fired up the oven and started cutting up potatoes. I boiled the potatoes, lemon, and garlic as directed, then shoved the (stabbed) lemon and garlic up the chicken’s bum. Forty-five minutes of roasting later, I put in the potatoes and rosemary and tossed them around. I also put a bit more olive oil on top at this point, as the skin on top was looking a little dry. (I would’ve used bacon as in the recipe, but SOMEBODY ate it all.) Another forty-five minutes in the oven and it was done. It ended up being delicious! The meat was moist and I could taste the lemon and thyme in the breast meat. I think when I do it again I might add a little duck fat with the potatoes to make them extra crispy (as this chicken wasn’t that fatty). But in terms of reward for effort, this is a pretty easy way to make a “proper” dinner that will impress just about anybody.