Rosemary Roast Chicken with Onion-Garlic Gravy

FryBoy

New member
Sass Muffin's post about onion gravy reminded me of this simple and delicious way to roast chicken, which I don't think I've posted before. You could probably do it on the grill if you want, considering that it's summer. The original is in The San Francisco Chronicle Cookbook, but I have modified the directions for clarity.

ROSEMARY ROAST CHICKEN WITH
ONION-GARLIC GRAVY

Chicken is roasted on a bed of onions and garlic in this recipe by Michael Bauer. When the
bird is cooked through and golden, the vegetables are pureed with chicken stock to make
a thick, rich gravy.

1 whole chicken (about 3½ pounds)
1½ tablespoons olive oil
4 medium onions, cut in large chunks (3 really large onions will do)
1 lemon, cut in quarters, seeds removed
2 fresh rosemary sprigs (about 6 inches each)
8 whole garlic cloves, peeled
1½ cups chicken broth (unsalted canned is fine)
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees (yes, I mean 450).

Remove and discard the giblets, rinse the chicken, pat dry and remove excess fat from
around the tail area.

Rub the chicken inside and out with ½ tablespoon of the olive oil, sprinkle with salt and
pepper inside and out.

Stuff the cavity with about ½ to 1 of the chopped onions, 2 wedges of lemon, a sprig of
rosemary, and 4 garlic cloves; close cavity with toothpicks to keep veggies inside.

Use a bit of the remaining olive oil to grease the bottom of a glass baking dish. Place the
remaining onions and garlic in the dish. Drizzle the remaining oil over the onions.

Place the bird breast down on the onion mixture; squeeze juice of another quarter of the
lemon over the chicken.

Roast for about 20 minutes per pound. Check the onion mixture; if it starts to blacken or
stick, add a bit of the chicken broth.

After 30 minutes, turn the chicken breast side up and add ¼ to ½ cup chicken broth to the
onion mixture. Return pan to the oven and roast until the meat in the thickest part of the
leg just loses its pinkness. Add a bit more of the chicken broth if onions start to dry out.

Remove the chicken to a platter.

Scrape the onion mixture into a medium sauce pan. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add the leaves from the remaining rosemary (discard stem) to taste. Squeeze in the juice
of the remaining lemon quarter. Puree with a hand blender, adding remaining broth if the
gravy is too thick. Bring pureed mixture to a boil to meld flavors.

Cut the chicken in serving pieces and serve with the gravy.

(NOTE: if you don’t have a hand blender, which is also called a wand or immersion
blender, put onion mixture and other ingredients in a food processor or regular blender,
puree, then transfer to sauce pan.)
 

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