Garlic Butter Roast Chicken and Vegetables

I found this recipe in my latest Cooking Club magazine.  I wasn't gung-ho to try it because of the butter rubbing of the chicken and the flipping every 15 minutes.  Vegetables, roast vegetables, were what drew me in.  Whole chickens on sale sealed the deal.

Garlic Butter Roast Chicken and Vegetables

1 (4-lb.) whole chicken

3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon pepper, divided
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon minced garlic, divided
1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
8 fingerling or new potatoes, halved lengthwise or quartered if large
8 medium carrots
8 oz. Broccoflower (green cauliflower), cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
2 large onions, cut into 1-inch wedges
1 tablespoon butter, melted

Heat oven to 400°F.

Spray large rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. Pat chicken dry; remove excess fat around cavity.

Sprinkle outside and cavity of chicken with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper.


Combine softened butter, 1 tablespoon of the garlic and parsley in small bowl; spread over chicken.


Place chicken, breast-side up, in center of baking sheet; cover loosely with foil.


Bake 15 minutes.


Turn chicken to one side; bake an additional 15 minutes. Turn chicken to other side; bake an additional 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, toss potatoes, carrots, Broccoflower and onions with melted butter and remaining 1 teaspoon garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in large bowl.

 

Remove foil; place chicken breast-side up. Arrange vegetables around chicken.
 

Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until chicken is golden brown, internal temperature reaches 170°F. and vegetables are tender. Remove from oven. Cover loosely with foil; let stand 10 minutes before carving.

This chicken tasted good, but if one opted to avoid the skin, there wouldn't be much in the flavor category -- certainly not a flavor explosion. The vegetables were in a word, fantastic.  I adored them and could eat them all day long.  Rodney thought everything was just ok.

Annoying points of this recipe were just as I'd suspected, buttering and flipping.  I'd dried the chicken well after rinsing.  My mistake was to salt and pepper the bird before preparing the garlic-parsley butter.  The salt drew out water from the skin, making butter smearing a great difficulty due to the fact that water and fat don't mix.  The butter wanted to stick to my hand more than the bird and I ended up piling the butter on the breast as best I could.

Flipping the bird was more annoying than difficult.  I prefer the stick-it-in-the-oven-and-walk-away-for-an-hour-or-so method.

Cost:

• chicken: $3
• broccoflower: $2.43
• parsley: $0.45
• red potatoes: $1.23

Total: $7.11 or $1.78 for each of four servings.

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