Gorgeous Chicken night! I can’t remember where I came across this recipe - - and I can’t, for the life of me, remember it’s name. It’s something like “Really Good Chicken” or “Damn Good Chicken” or some such thing - - anyways, I just renamed it “Gorgeous Chicken” .. cuz it sounds good. It’s REALLY easy to!
Preheat oven to 400.
I use an 8lb chicken. (because I have a teenage son, so you can take away an automatic 2lbs right there!) My rule of thumb for baking chicken? 20 minutes per pound - then add another 20 minutes. but I always check the thermometer before calling it done. (checking the breast area of a whole chicken with a meat thermometer - - it’s done when it reaches 175).
Remove the innards completely and wash the chicken inside and out. Let sit in a collander in the sink for about 15 minutes until the bird reaches room temp. Pat it dry.
I use about a cup (or more) of lemon juice. Pour it all over the chicken - inside and out. Then take 3-4 whole lemons.. prick each one 3-4 times with a fork and shove those lemons right up the birds ass. I season with ground sea salt and fresh ground pepper. (you can use garlic juice in with the lemon juice too, if you’re a garlic lover like me!)
Reduce the temp of the oven to 350 and put the bird in a roasting pan. Put it in the oven, breast side down, for an hour. Then flip the bird breast side up and cook for the remaining time until done.
The bird in our oven currently has another 2 1/2 hours to go. I started dinner late tonight cuz I’m a putz. We’re having it with steamed asparagus and brown rice.
7:49 pm on December 29th, 2005
Then take 3-4 whole lemons.. prick each one 3-4 times with a fork and shove those lemons right up the birds ass.
Gotta LOVE that visual!
Hey, “prick” and “ass” in the same sentence without sexual overtones. Very nice, Lisa.
8:15 pm on December 29th, 2005
This would have dawned on me eventually lol
Gotta wonder what’s on your mind, Linda - hmmm?
1:05 am on December 30th, 2005
I assume the bird is dead first, right?
Want an even more lovely visual? I have very few childhood memories. One that I somehow retained is that of a headless chicken running around in our front yard. I guess we were having chicken that night for dinner. *shrugs* Thanks go out to my mom for that one.
1:42 am on December 30th, 2005
Jeannette - I’m glad I finished dinner before you gave me that visual…or dinner may have been..interesting.
Headless chickens. In the yard.
And here I thought the matching outfits my mom made for my brother, sister and I to wear to church was torture.
It doesn’t top headless chickens in the yard.
7:09 pm on December 30th, 2005
Um, pricks and asses aside, this sounds really good, I will try it, the chicken recipe that is.
11:17 am on January 2nd, 2006
Hmmmmmm. Might have to try that one. The only suggestion I’d make is to pull it out when it hits 170. Leave it sit on the counter for 10-15 minutes and it’ll gain another ten degrees and many of the juices will be absorbed back into the bird…