Roast Chicken with Gravy by The Food Nanny

 Dinner #5: Roast Chicken with Gravy

Time: Long

Price: $$$$

My thoughts:  Surprisingly easy!  Not to mention really good.  I'm not gonna lie, it was my first time ever having cooked a young chicken.  Poor thing. I was kinda freaked out touching it before it was cooked, thinking "this was once a young chicken not too long ago."  But I succeeded in setting my emotions aside and savored it's deliciousness once cooked.

What I loved: That I can now cook a bird on my own.  I think that officially makes me a mom. Does it not? And I loved making homemade gravy from it's drippings . . . man, call me Betty people! And of course we loved the leftovers.

ingredients

1 whole young roasting chicken, 5-6 pound

1 pinch seasoned salt

1/4 flour

1 pinch lemon pepper

1 1/2 cup chicken broth

1 pinch salt and ground black pepper

instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Discard any giblets and wipe the chicken inside and out with a damp paper towel; discard the towel immediately. (This is the preferred way to "rinse" a chicken, for food safety.)  Place the chicken in a shallow roasting pan or 9x13-inch metal baking pan. Sprinkle the chicken with lemon pepper and seasoned salt.  Roast uncovered 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours, basting with the pan drippings during cooking if desired.  Or pour a little chicken broth over the chicken a couple of times to keep it moist.  Check for doneness with an instant-read thermometer.  The chicken is done with the thigh juices run clear with pricked with a fork, or at 170 to 175 degrees.  If you like the dark meet falling off the bone, roast until  the thigh registers 180, but at this point the breast meat may be dry.  Transfer the chicken to a platter and tent with aluminum foil to keep warm while making gravy: leave the juices in the baking pan.  Add 1 1/2 cups of the chicken broth to the juices.  In a small bowl or measuring cup, make a paste of 1/4 cup of chicken broth and the flour.  Stir until smooth. Place pan over medium-high heat and bring the juices and brother to a boil.  Add the paste, stirring constantly with a whisk for 2 min or until mixture is thickened.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add more past if the gravy is too thin, or add more broth if too thick.