My 52 Weeks With Christie

Take one whole chicken

3 Tbsp salt

1 tsp each – turmeric, paprika, cayenne, black pepper, onion powder and garlic granules

Mix everything, but the chicken, in a small bowl. Then rub mixture on chicken. (I find the flavor best when you get the rub under the skin.) Let sit in a gallon ziplock bag overnight in your fridge.

Get your roasting pan out, layer the bottom with chunks of carrots, parsnips and onions (generally any root vegetable will do). Then get your bird out of the fridge & bag and set on veggies in pan. Here you can add rosemary, lemon, parley and thyme into the cavity of your chicken for extra flavor.

Now cover and put into oven! (If your pan doesn’t have a lid don’t sweat it – I used this same recipe without a lid for years. All that happens is the skin gets really crispy. If you want to avoid this – tent the bird with foil.)

The size of the chicken determines how long it needs to cook – so long as the meat thermometer reads 170 degrees your good! (I usually buy a 9 – 10lb bird and it usually takes 3 – 3 1/2 to cook thru.)

Now here’s the best part – if you remove the meat from the bird right away (well after it cools a bit so you don’t singe your fingers) or alternatively after dinner…you can make soup stock!

Pop all the veggies that lined the bottom of the pan, the herbs from inside the bird and the remaining bits of bird into a large pot. (I don’t recommend putting the skin in, but the cartilage and bones are great.)

Pour in enough water to cover the contents of the pot by three inches. Then let simmer for two or three hours or until it reaches the taste you’re looking for. (The liquid will reduce some – don’t worry this is a good thing.)

Then take off heat, strain (because you’ve extracted every bit of flavor from the components and don’t need them anymore) and let cool.

I then pour the stock in half gallon freezer bags and pop them into the freezer for the next time I make soup! (I take off any excess fat after it’s frozen, as it’s way easier.)