Roast Organic Chicken

Yield: 4 – 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 large organic chicken
  • 4 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 4 stalks celery, chopped
  • 4 onions, peeled and cut in half
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon dried thyme
  • Sprinkled sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method

  1. Preheat your oven to 500°F.
  2. Rinse the chicken thoroughly with cold water and remove any giblets from the cavity.  Dry well. Clean and sterilize your sink.
  3. Toss the carrots, celery and onions into the bottom of a roasting pan large enough to comfortably hold the chicken. Toss with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables and sprinkle with some more olive oil.  Season the chicken evenly with salt, pepper and thyme and place in the preheated oven.  Immediately turn the oven temperature down to 350° and roast that bird for 1 and one half hours, or until an internal thermometer registers 165° when jabbed into the deepest part of the leg.
  4. When it’s done, pull the pan from the oven and let it rest for a few minutes.  Cut the breasts and legs off of the carcass, reserving the carcass.  Chunk the breast and leg meat, removing bones and place the meat back in the roasting pan with the vegetables. Stir together and serve.
  5. Put the reserved carcass in a large pot and cover with cold water.  Add your choice of aromatic vegetables such as carrots, celery and onion and bring to a simmer, removing any debris that floats to the top.  Leave it at a gentle simmer for an hour and then strain it into a clean container.  Refrigerate.