Dutch Girl Best Roast Chicken

This recipe for roast chicken should always be in your repertoire, it is one of those go to recipes that may see you through at least 3 meals, depending on the size of chicken that you roast. Having a roasted chicken on hand anytime is a life saver for those nightmare week nights that have you rushing around and need something easy, nutritious and delicious, without going to the fast food and blowing the food budget in one meal.

Best Roast Chicken

3-5 kg whole chicken
3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
2 medium onions, peeled and chopped into quarters
1 stalk celery, cut into 2 inch pieces
Fresh sage leaves
1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper

Turn oven on to 350 degrees F. Wash the chicken inside and out, dry, if the chicken has the string around it holding the legs together, remove it. Place chicken into a roasting pan with a rack, to keep the skin crispy all over and out of the rendered fat. Salt and pepper the inside of the chicken, put the onion and celery inside, then by sliding your finger between the breast meat and the skin, loosen slightly to allow you to slide the sage leaves and slices of garlic under the skin, rub the outside of the chicken with the olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Tuck the chicken legs close to the body and the wings under the back, cover loosely with a piece of parchment paper put into oven, bake at 350 degrees F for about 1 hour 15 minutes for 3 kg to 2 hours 20 minutes for 5 kg., remove the parchment halfway through baking time and turn the roasting pan to achieve even browning. Remove chicken from oven, let rest at least 15 minutes, covered with the parchment from earlier.
If you wish to make gravy with the drippings from the chicken, remove the rack from the roasting pan put roasting pan onto the burner to heat up, loosen the baked bits on the bottom by stirring with a flat wooden scraper, add 1/4-1/2 cup flour if you are not glutin free, stir it around to absorb the fat in the chicken drippings (add more flour if necessary to absorb the fat), cook and stir the chicken drippings and flour for a minute or two, then add a bit of water, keep stirring, adding more water until you have a thickened gravy, taste for salt and pepper, strain it into the gravy dish. If you are gluten free, you can add chick pea flour or corn flour, but use less than with flour as these vegetable flours are generally more starchy. Serve with mashed potatoes and fresh salad, enjoy!