The answer is Kosher

I have recently discovered the delight in roasting whole chickens (well, maybe about 2-3 years ago). It started with just the chicken breasts, I'd roast one or two at a time, which was great, but you definitely don't get the same rush pulling two measly breasts out of the oven as you do with a whole chicken. I pretty much mastered the chicken breast (bone-in, skin-on, the only way to go if you're roasting it), producing moist tender chicken every time. I mixed it up, adding different herbs, stuffing different cheeses under the skin, etc... I'd roast a whole chicken every once in awhile, but not that often.

I had a bit more trouble with the whole chicken. Although it seemed it should be so simple, I mean really, how much harder could it be than just the chicken breast? Not that it didn't taste good, it was just inconsistent. Which kind of infuriated me because roast chicken is really a very simple meal that you can dress up or dress down depending on your mood (kind of like a great pair of jeans, which I am still searching for as well). I love that it has very little prep and you just throw it in the oven. You can make for lots of people or, like for us, have lots of chicken leftovers for things like chicken pot pie or chicken enchiladas (my favorites with leftover chicken). The inconsistency drove me a little crazy, I can't deal with things like that. So I started making it less and less often, until tonight, when I had my break-through moment.

Actually I think it was probably a couple months ago when one of my friends mentioned to me that you must must (I do believe she actually did use two musts) use a kosher chicken because it's salted. At least I think that was the reason, but I could definitely be wrong. So yesterday when we went to the grocery store and I was staring blankly at the meat department trying to come up with something for dinner tonight, chicken caught my eye. And I almost forgot about the kosher chicken rule, but I was having trouble finding a good looking chicken so I thought I'd try the kosher section and then I remembered that I was supposed to get a kosher one anyway.

So as you can imagine, I made roast chicken (from a kosher chicken) for dinner tonight. And, if I do say so myself, it was AWESOME. So, yes, the first argument one might make is that perhaps this was just an "on" night for me and my roast chicken. Since my issue in the past wasn't that the chicken was always bad, just inconsistent, perhaps tonight was just one of those good nights. BUT, if you were to make that argument, then clearly you've never had a kosher chicken.

It was more tender, more juicy and more flavorful than any roast chicken I have ever made. By far. By hundreds of miles. Well, ok, maybe that's a stretch, but it was really good if I haven't mentioned that already. Perhaps it was made better by the sweet potatoes that I roasted along side the chicken that also had the chickeny goodness. A total overload of awesome chicken flavor. Holy cow. I had to stop myself from picking up the carcass and gnawing the remnant chicken bits left on the bone.

Even Lola wanted to get in on the chicken action. She is pretty much the pickiest eater in the household, often times not even eating salmon. She rarely, if ever, eats my chicken (even when I think it tastes good). She too, wanted to attack the chicken carcass, I had to wrestle it out of her little paws (she's strong!).

So, I'd love to give you a recipe, but it doesn't matter what recipe you use, just use kosher chicken! Also important though to cook it to the right temperature...I did 170 deg taken in the thigh at the thickest part. And let it rest for 15 minutes after you take it out of the oven.

I think what I did was cook it at 375 for about an hour (I was aiming for 400 but well, my oven sucks) and then at 400 for about 15-20 minutes for maybe a four pound chicken (maybe it was more, or less, I really don't remember). I also brushed the skin with about 1-2 tablespoons of butter, added salt and pepper and stuffed the inside with onions and lemons. But seriously, pay no attention to the cooking temperature or the other extras, just make sure that you get the chicken temperature right and make it kosher! I'd also highly recommend roasting some veggies or potatoes or something inside the pan with the chicken, because it tastes so darn good (you just have to monitor it a little more closely and pull out the veggies if they are done before the chicken). Don't forget like I almost did, buy kosher!