I had a couple of whole chickens I needed to cook for dinner the other night. I felt like roasted chicken, but wanted to do something a little different.

I remembered learning to stuff chicken under the skin several years ago. It really is pretty easy. You make a flavored butter (or simply plain butter) and loosen under the skin with your fingers, then rub the butter all over under the skin.

Even rub some on the outside of the bird for good measure and roast like usual. It turned out great. What you mix the butter with is up to you, there are countless possibilities.

It helps to truss the chicken.

“But Chef Jeff I don’t know how to truss a chicken, and even the thought scares me to death!”

Don’t worry, I found this video which shows a super simple way to truss your chicken, and takes all of a minute or two.

http://youtu.be/x3bieEEYEAk

Why truss a chicken?

It helps the bird roast evenly, and the breast meat is more tender.

Here’s what your prepared bird should look like before you put it in the oven…

It’s all pretty easy, and makes a big difference in taste and presentation. Here’s the basic recipe…

Garlic and Herb Roasted Chicken

1 whole chicken
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup chopped Italian Parsley
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper
twine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rinse and dry the chicken. With your fingers loosen the skin from the meat (breast and legs). Mix the butter, herbs, and garlic and rub equally between the skin and meat of the chicken. If you have some leftover then rub on top of the chicken as well. Truss the chicken according to the video above. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. If you ran out of herb butter, then simply rub some more plain butter on top of the bird to baste while cooking. Roast for 1 hour and let rest for at least 10 minutes before carving it so the juices have a chance to settle down.

Filed under: Cooking Great Food

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