Recipe: Roast Chicken

The first instruction is this: since the oven is already on, roast two chickens rather than just one. You'll use the same amount of gas/electricity and the same amount of time, but you'll end up with double the food (a.k.a.: leftovers to freeze for future meals). People are always a bit taken aback when I tell them to do this -- as though it's extra effort, which it's not! -- but it makes perfect sense. You can also easily toss some potatoes, onions and carrots around the chickens, letting them roast right along with the meat and completing your meal without extra pots or pans to wash.

Ingredients

• 2 5-pound chickens
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 lemons
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425? F.

Place each chicken into a baking dish, or place them both into a large (turkey-sized) roasting pan. Pour the oil over the chickens, rubbing it in to make sure that all of the skin is coated. Cut the lemons in half and squeeze the juice over the chickens; place the squished lemons into the chicken cavities, so that the roasting lemon can help to permeate the meat with flavor. Sprinkle chickens with the salt, seasoned salt and pepper, then roast them for 45 minutes, brushing/basting them every 15 minutes with the juices at the bottom of the pan. Turn the heat down to 400? F and roast for another 45 minutes, brushing/basting them every 15 minutes. Let the chickens rest for 15 minutes before cutting into them, to let the moisture settle into the meat and keep it from drying out. Then slice, serve and enjoy!

 This recipe was written by Mary Bilyeu and originally posted on AnnArbor.com on Dec. 15, 2009.