Engagment chicken

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what is engagment chicken?

Enagment chicken is simple, flavoral whole roasted chicken. Legend has it, a fashion jouranlist in 1980 shared a roasted chicken recipe with a coworker who made it for her boyfriend. 1 month later he proposed. She then shared it with three more coworkers, all who got enagaged shortly after. Enagment chicken, uses fresh herbs and aromatics to create a mouthwatering juicy chicken. This is my spin on it

Tips

for crispy skin..

like the saying goes ‘good things come to those who wait.’ In this case I am referring to chicken prep. If you have time, pat the entire chicken dry, and let rest in fridge for 5hrs – overnight. This will help your skin crisp up! I recommend keeping your chicken on the bottom shelf of your refrigerator on a cutting board or dish.

Engagement chicken & roasted mashed potatoes

Preparation Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 90 minutes | Serving size: 2 – 4 people

Gather

• 1 whole chicken (about 4 pounds)
• 1 stick of butter plus 3 tablespoons, softened at room temperature 
• Salt 
• 1 tablespoon pepper, plus more for seasoning
• 2 teaspoons oregano 
• 12 cloves of garlic, 6 peeled and left whole, 6 peeled and minced
• 2 lemons, zested and sliced (remove seeds) 
• Olive oil
• 2 medium onions, cut in quarters 
• 4-5 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 4 fresh sage leaves 
• 5 sprigs fresh thyme 
• 1 cup chicken broth  
• 1½ pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut in 1-inch pieces 
• ½ cup dry white wine (optional) 
• ½ cup milk

Follow

1. Optional: Pat chicken dry, including the cavity. Remove any innards. Let chicken sit uncovered in the fridge overnight. This helps with crispy skin.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
3. In bowl, combine stick of butter, heavy sprinkle of salt, pepper, oregano, minced garlic  and lemon zest. 
4. Remove chicken from fridge (if you refrigerated it), and thoroughly pat dry. Gently pull the skin away from the flesh. (You can use the back of a spoon against the skin to help pull it away from the flesh, the further you go down the chicken breast.) Layer butter mixture under chicken skin; work your way across the breast and try to get into the legs/thighs. 
5. Brush chicken and cavity with olive oil. Season chicken heavily with salt and pepper, Including the cavity. Place half the lemon slices, half of the onions and half of the fresh herbs inside the cavity. 
6. In roasting pan, spread the remainder of fresh herbs, onion, whole cloves of garlic, ½ cup of broth and russet potatoes. Place potatoes around the edges of the roasting pan.
7. Place whole chicken on the roasting rack, and on top of potatoes and onions. Try not to place potatoes directly under chicken.
8. Bake for 40 minutes. Carefully remove potatoes and place in a bowl and set aside. Add the remainder of lemon slices to the roasting pan. Pour ½ cup of chicken broth over the chicken and add white wine, if using. Return chicken to the oven. Cook for 35 minutes, or until juices run clear (or chicken temperature reaches 165F). (Feel free to start Step 9 here.) Remove and cover with foil; allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
9. Mash potatoes in a saucepan, I like using a potato ricer. Add milk and the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter. Heat over medium heat and stir. Season with salt and pepper as preferred.