Sarasota's Roasted Whole Chicken With a White Wine Sauce

"I like lots of flavor to my chicken, and as with many other chefs, a high temp to start is the key for a crispy crust. I have a very simple olive oil, butter, parsley, salt and pepper rub and then lots of fruit and onions in the cavity which I feel really helps with the flavor. Rather than a rack, just use a couple of thick onion slices or a couple of celery ribs or carrots. It makes a natural rack and add tons of flavor to the drippings. Take advantage of what you have in your fridge. You can always use a traditional roasting rack if you want. But I think it is key to have it raised off the bottom of the pan."
 
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photo by JackieOhNo! photo by JackieOhNo!
photo by JackieOhNo!
photo by LifeIsGood photo by LifeIsGood
Ready In:
1hr 15mins
Ingredients:
17
Serves:
4-6
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ingredients

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directions

  • Prepare -- Clean the chicken, rinse and pat dry. Add 1/2 the salt and pepper into the cavity along with the orange, lemon, onion and garlic.
  • Mix the olive oil, butter, remaining salt and pepper along with the parsley and cayenne pepper. Brush this all over the chicken.
  • I tuck the wings under the chicken and set in a roasting pan on my cut thick onion slices, or celery, or even carrots. If you don't want to use a natural vegetable rack you can use just of baking rack but I just love the flavor the vegetables give the gravy. I do not like to truss or tie my legs together. To me they get done more evenly when not tied.
  • Time to bake -- Now I like to add 1 cup chicken broth or you can just use water in the bottom of the pan. It gives a little moisture along with the dripping from the chicken. Heat the oven to 450 degrees and cook the chicken uncovered for about 20 minutes. Reduce to 375 and cook for another 40-60 minutes depending on the size of your chicken. I always remove when the internal temperature reaches 170-175 and the juices will run clear when you stick a knife or fork in the thigh.
  • Resting -- Make sure you remove from the pan to a plate and cover with foil. Let rest at least 15 minutes. Temperature will rise to 180 easily.
  • Gravy -- First remove most of the grease from the drippings, just use a tablespoon, there shouldn't be too much. Then put the pan on the stove top and on medium heat, deglaze the pan with white wine about 1 cup and scrape up all the drippings. At this point, I still keep all the vegetables I used as the rack still in the pan. Then I add 2 cups of chicken broth and let it reduce 5 or so minutes as the chicken continues to rest.
  • I finish by adding a teaspoon of butter and then thickening just a bit with corn starch mixed with just a little water (a slurry) just lightly, I don't want it too thick, and then strain the gravy. I then add a little parsley right at the end (optional). And drizzle over the cut up roasted chicken. It is perfection.

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Reviews

  1. This was so tasty. I could not fit all the orange, lemon, or onion in my chicken. I could only fit 2 wedges of each. The other wedges I just put on the roasting pan and roasted alongside the chicken. The roasted onion was delicious. The chicken was moist, flavorful, and devoured by the whole family. I did not use the vegetable rack, but cooked on a roasting pan that allowed the juices to flow away from the chicken. I made the gravy afterward using only chicken stock since I was out of white wine; it was great on the mashed potatoes I made.
     
  2. This was so moist and tasty. I did 2 small chickens and they turned out wonderful....I did forget to make the gravy and will make it the next time I do a whole chicken again....which will be soon as we all loved the taste and moistness of this...thanks for the recipe :)
     
  3. Very good. I used the celery, onion and carrot rack and it provided delicious flavors for the drippings. My 3.5 lb bird wouldn't hold all of the orange/lemons however I had contaminated them while attempting to stuff the chicken so I had to throw them away :( The wine sauce is an excellent accompaniment and really accents the chicken well. I served this with Recipe #390354.
     
  4. YUM! Comfort food. Simple and delicious...pure and simple. The chicken was given so much extra flavor by: the butter/herb rub (I melted the butter), fruit/onion/garlic combination stuffed in the cavity AND the carrot and celery "rack". Delicious flavor. The chicken is crispy on the outside and stays very tender on the inside. I cut up some potatoes & drizzled with olive oil and added salt/pepper - put it on a separate pan and roasted them while the chicken was cooking. The gravy works so well and has a lovely, light consistency/flavor.
     
  5. Although I never like to veer from Sarasota's instructions, I made a few minor alterations, based on what I had on hand. I used a 7-lb. chicken and, even so, I had a hard time squeezing in the onion, lemon, and oranges. I stuffed the cavity (and actually tore the skin a little in doing so) and also managed to cram some into the neck cavity! I also includes some fresh sage and thyme in the cavity, since I happened to have them in my refrigerator. I did use thick-sliced onions for the "rack" which was a great idea and added so much flavor. Obviously, being a larger bird, it took longer to cook but still came out juicy and moist. The white wine sauce was light but tasty. I would imagine you could thicken this up to a gravy-like consistency if you preferred, but this worked very well for us. Made in memory of Kim for Cook-a-thon for SarasotaCook.
     
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

<p>Growing up in Michigan, I spent my summers at my cottage in the Northern part up by Traverscity. On a lake, big garden which had all the vegetables you could imagine. My mom taught school, so summers were our vacation time. Gramps and I fished all the time so fresh fish was always on the menu, perch, blue gill, walleye and small and large mouth bass. At age 5 I learned how to clean my own fish and by 10 I was making dinner, canning vegetables and fruits, making pies and fresh breads. Apples fresh picked every fall, strawberries in June and July, Cherries at the Cherry Festival in Traverscity. So fresh foods always were a big part. Mom worked as a teacher during the year so dinner was more traditional with pot roasts, meatloaf, etc, but it seemed we always had fresh fruits and vegetables as part of the meal. Mom also didn't use as many spices as I do, but times were different back then. <br /> <br />So ... My motto is ... There is NO Right and NO Wrong with cooking. So many people thing they have to follow a recipe. But NO ... a recipe is a method and directions to help and teach someone. Cooking is about personal tastes and flavors. I love garlic ... and another person may not. I like heat ... but you may not. Recipes are building blocks, NOT text ground in stone. Use them to make and build on. Even my recipes I don't follow most times --They are a base. That is what cooking is to me. A base of layer upon layer of flavors. <br /> <br />I still dislike using canned soups or packaged gravies/seasoning ... but I admit, I do use them. I have a few recipes that use them. But I try to strive to teach people to use fresh ingredients, they are first ... so much healthier for you ... and second, in the end less expensive. But we all have our moments including me. <br /> <br />So, lets see ... In the past, I have worked as a hostess, bartender, waitress, then a short order cook, salad girl in the kitchen, sort of assistant chef, head chef, co owner of a restaurant ... now a consultant to a catering company/restaurant, I cater myself and I'm a personal chef for a elderly lady. I work doing data entry during the day, and now and then try to have fun which is not very often due to my job(s). <br /> <br />I have a 21 year old who at times is going on 12, aren't they all. Was married and now single and just trying to enjoy life one day at a time. I'm writing a cookbook ... name is still in the works but it is dedicated to those people who never learned, to cook. Single Moms, Dads, or Just Busy Parents. Those individuals that think you can't make a great dinner for not a lot of money. You can entertain on a budget and I want people to know that gourmet tasting food doesn't have to be from a can of soup or a box, and healthy food doesn't come from a drive through. There are some really good meals that people can make which are healthy and will save money but taste amazing. So I guess that is my current goal. We all take short cuts and I have no problem with that - I do it too. I volunteer and make food for the homeless every couple of months, donating my time and money. I usually make soup for them and many times get donations from a local grocery stores, Sams Club, Walmart etc, with broth, and vegetables. It makes my cost very little and well worth every minute I spend. Like anyone, life is always trying to figure things out and do the best we can and have fun some how along the way.</p>
 
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