Lemon Roasted Chicken

I don’t know about you, but often when I roast a chicken I’m disappointed as part of it are over cooked.  Not this time, it was PERFECT! There are a couple of things that I think worked this time:

1. The chicken was organic, and what’s more only slaughtered the day before I got it, so it was super fresh. A friend of mine, met the people from Ayton Farm recently at a farmer’s market, got chatting and all of a sudden my friend is talking to me to see if I’d like some organic chicken. I don’t always buy organic, it’s simply too expensive but this was reasonably priced and I do like to support  local businesses and farmers when I can.  So, yesterday I bought 2 organic chickens and they’ve given me some of their eggs too which I’m looking forward to trying.
2. I brined it.  What is brining? Basically it’s soaking the meat in a slightly salty liquid (& other herbs and spices). Over Easter I was reading in one of Mum’s cookbooks that brining a chicken can help moisten it so, particularly the breast meat, doesn’t over cook. I thought I’d give it a go, but because I am impatient and wanted to try my succulent chicken straight away, I only brined it for 45 mins instead of 24 hours!! I’m definitely going to brine for longer next time to give it a try.

Apart from the tenderness of the chicken being perfect, the citrus flavours added to its freshness and overall deliciousness! Oh, and the vegetables on the base soak up all the juices and are INCREDIBLE!!

Smokey lemon brine

I made this up on the fly, I don’t think the measurements are that important, a pinch here and there is probably fine,  as are the actual ingredients quite flexible depending on what you’ve got on hand.  This is what I used none-the-less. The brine would work for any cut of chicken, I used a whole 1.8kg chicken.

• 1 lit water (roughly – make sure there is enough to cover the chicken when bagged)
• peel of 1 lemon + save the lemon itself to stuff the chicken
• 1 dessertspoon salt
• a knob ginger, sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic – crushed
• 2 star anise
• 4 drops of Lemon Essential oil  (optional, but did add a lemon kick)
• 1 tsp smoked orange garlic & chilli salt

1. Place a large zip lock bag open and inside a bowl, add all the ingredients, stir, then add the chicken. Zip it up and remove any air.  Refrigerate for up to 24 hours.

Lemon Roasted Chicken (on a bed of vegetables)

• 1.8-2kg chicken
• 1 Tbsp oil
• 1 large red onion
• 1 sweet potato
• 1 large potato
• 1 celery stick
• 1 carrot
• 1 tsp Aussie Roast herb mix
• 1 tsp smoked orange garlic & chilli salt
• 1.5 lemons (the lemon left over from the brine plus extra)

1. Pre-heat oven to 180C/350F.
2. Prepare your roasting dish by drizzling some oil onto the bottom.
3. Slice all the vegetables into discs about 1/2cm thick.
4. Arrange all the vegetables scattered around the base of the dish. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with the Aussie Roast herbs (or herbs of your choice) and a little salt.
5. Remove the chicken from the brine (discard the brine) and place on top of the vegetables.
6. Stuff the chicken cavity with the lemons.
7. Pat the skin dry with paper towel then brush with oil (I used a little melted butter too) then sprinkle with the Smoked Orange, Garlic & Chilli salt (or salt, pepper and herbs of your choice).
8. Roast in the oven for about 1& 1/4 hours.
9. Remove and rest for 10-15 mins before slicing.
10. Serve with the vegetables underneath and whatever other veg/salad you’d like – I did some extra roasted sweet potato, beetroot, potato and tomatoes.
11. Don’t forget to save the carcass and make chicken stock (check out my recipe)out of it.