Rock Salt Roast Chicken

Let me tell you why exactly I’m sharing this recipe.  First of all, it’s amazing.  My sister-in-law made it for us one evening for dinner.  We all devoured it.  I made it a couple nights ago along with roasted green beans and spinach in a peanut butter vinaigrette,  roasted carrots (recipe coming soon!), and some amazing yeast rolls.   Can you sense a theme here? Roasted everything was on the menu that night and it was delicious!  But the second reason I’m including this recipe is because it is a WONDERFUL way to prepare chicken that you need to have on hand for other ingredients.  I’ve got some great chicken based dishes coming your way soon, so I thought you’d appreciate this handy, divine dish that can be dressed up or down.

Rock Salt Roast Chicken

Reach For:

1 whole chicken
4 lb box of ice cream or rock salt
1 lemon
3-4 sprigs parsley
4 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a 9×13 pan or Pyrex with foil to make cleanup easier.  Pour entire box of salt into pan.  Remove “bonus” parts of the chicken (neck, gizzards…ewww!) and rinse the chicken well inside and out, draining well.  With a fork, poke holes all around the lemon.  Mix garlic with salt and pepper (a good amount…maybe 1 tsp or so each), rub inside the cavity of the chicken.  Place lemon and parsley sprigs inside the cavity as well.  Seal chicken with a toothpick.  Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken well. Bake for 40 minutes.  Carefully rotate the chicken onto the opposite side. Bake another 40-50 minutes.  Kitchen thermometer should read at least 165 degrees when stuck in the thickest part of the breast.  No pinkness should be present.  Carve and enjoy!

Serves:  4-6 (Depending on the size of the chicken)

Recipe Source: Mels Kitchen Café