Crispy Roasted Chicken

Roasted chicken has always been a staple in our house.  I have replaced the “butter rub” with olive oil and added an old bay spice rub to give this bird and extra kick.  Save all your leftovers including the bones and giblets, to make delicious soup the next day.

• 1 whole bird (chicken) with giblets (we usually get a 4lb bird)
• ½ bag (half of a 1.5lb bag) of baby potatoes
• 1 small sweet onion (I prefer Vidalia)
• 3 cloves of garlic, whole, slightly crushed
• ½ cup of white wine or chicken stock (if you are using wine, please only use a wine you would drink!)
• ½ lb of peeled baby carrots
• 3 whole beats peeled and cubed (optional)
• Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• Old Bay
• Salt and pepper
• Roasting pan (use a roasting pan only large enough to fit bird and veggies, otherwise your veg will burn)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Remove neck and giblets from cavity of bird and store in refrigerator (we will use these the next day for chicken stock).  Thoroughly rinse inside and outside of bird, pat dry, and set aside.  Cut baby potatoes in half (or quarter if large). Slice onion and peel and cube whole beats.  Add potatoes, onion, beats, garlic and carrots to the bottom of the roasting pan. Generously drizzle vegetables will EVOO, season with salt and pepper and toss in bottom of pan to coat.  Add ½ c of wine to roasting pan with veg.  Pour approx 1/3-1/2 C of old bay in separate small bowl (sorry, I don’t measure this exactly.  I put in separate bowl to eliminate any cross-contamination)..Place bird on top of veg mix, drizzle EVOO, and give it a nice rub down.  Then take large pinches of the old bay, and rub into the skin of the chicken.  The bird should be completely coated with spice, don’t be shy!

**Note, feel free to add any combination of vegetables that you like.  I normally just use whatever is in the house at the time.  I really love the beats as they are nutrient superstars and they add extra sweetness to the mix**

Bake bird at 450 degrees for 30 minutes (every oven is different, so make sure you are checking on it with out opening the oven door).  This short period at high heat will make the skin nice and crispy and seal in moisture.  After 30 minutes, lower heat to 350 degrees and cook for about another hour or until internal temp of thickest part of bird reaches 165 degrees. If you don’t have a meat thermometer, I highly suggest you invest in one- you can get a fancy digital one that you leave in the bird while cooking for a reasonable price, I have one similar to this that I purchased on Overstock.com; http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/DigitalThermometer/3322936/product.html?rcmndsrc=2.

Once bird is thoroughly cooked, remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before cutting.  Enjoy!