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Poulet Rôti Four – With this easy week night recipe for a roast chicken dinner, we’re taking on everyday homestyle French cooking à la mode de chez nous. In other words, the way we cook at home.
It could not get any simpler than this reasonably priced recipe for the best roast chicken dinner.
It’s almost a set it and forgoet it type meal if you do what I did last night. I put the chicken in the oven and drove off to Target® do some quick shopping!
In a hurry? When you don’t have time to marinate white or red meats, use
apple cider vinegar powder or Worcestershire sauce powder
to create your own spice packs or rubs to flavor the meat!
Poulet Rôti Four
Fred Bear Hands Oven Mitts, Set of 2
Of course, I don’t recommend walking out on your cooking as a regular practice. It’s not as safe as walking out on your slow cooker meal!
It just illustrates the fact that this recipe allows you to multi-task to a certain extent.
Start with a plump chicken, a roasting pan rack with handles (makes it so much easier to transfer the bird to a platter), salt and pepper or a blend of your favorite spices for chicken.
Oh…and a sturdy pair of oven mitts. Those heat resistant silicone paw pads are perfect when grabbing the roasting pan itself or the handles on the rack.
There are times when only these gloves will do!
French Herbs & Spices
French Kit: Magnetic Jars Filled with Organic French Herbs & Spices
The fun part of this simple recipe is that you can really do your own thing as far as the seasonings and the way you roast the chicken.
Instead of rubbing soft butter on the chicken before putting it in the oven (requires keeping an eye on things), I opted to start the cooking process with nothing more than seasonings.
Half an hour into the cooking process (that’s how long it took me to drive to Target® and get back), I basted the chicken with pan juices.
The chicken quickly took on a golden color. Only then did I add the bacon for a slightly smoky flavor. The butter was reserved for the old-fashioned stuffing side dish.
The stuffing has plenty of
- Chopped celery,
- Diced onion,
- A shredded medium carrot and
- Plenty of fresh parsley
all sautéed in butter. Season with poultry seasoning, some salt and pepper.
Cook the vegetables until translucent and tender. Crumble the toasted bread directly into the pan and then add the two slices of fresh bread, either crumbled or broken into small pieces. I did not even take the time to cut the toast into nice even croutons.
Combine to mix well with the sautéed veggies and add just enough chicken bouillon to wet the toasted bread crumbles. Adjust seasonings if needed . Think of it as a mini version of my turkey stuffing.
Easy week night recipe for a roast chicken dinner!
Roast Chicken Dinner Menu
The roast chicken dinner menu included old-fshioned bread stuffing – a special request from the DH.
Bread stuffing for poultry is really more of an American thing.
The French do have what we call “farces” but they tend to be more of a meat stuffing – as in the simple yet so tasty sausage stuffing my Grandmère made for potatoes or tomatoes.
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Description
A simple oven roasted chicken. No stuffing, basic seasonings and gravy make for the best chicken dinner along with stuffing and steamed green beans.
Ingredients
- 4 to 5 lb Wegman’s® whole chicken (large fryer)
- 4 slices of bacon
- salt, pepper to taste or
- “Bistro” seasonings or a blend of sea salt, thyme, tarragon, garlic, ground mustard, lemon peel, apple cider vinegar powder and a hint of ground cloves
Stuffing:
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- Whole stalk of celery, diced to include leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon Poultry seasonings for the stuffing mixture
- 1/2 cup of shredded carrot (1 medium carrot)
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth
- 4 tablespoons of salted butter
- 8 slices of Artisan style bread (6 toasted and 2 not toasted)
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees.
- Place the chicken on the rack, breast side down and season the back. Tuck the wings under the bird. Season the cavoty with salt and pepper to taste.
- Turn the chicken over on the rack and season the top.
- Place in pre-heated oven.
- After the chicken turns an even golden brown, baste carefully and place one strip of bacon lengthwise to cover the wing and the drumstick. Repeat for the other wing and drumstick. Fold the 2 remaining bacon slices into a a v-shape and place so as to more or less cover the entire breast. This will prevent the pieces from burning during the rest of the cooking time. It will also baste the chicken although I do baste the chicken with the pan juices a few times.
- Cook another 30 minutes or until the juice runs clear.
- Serve with pan juices diluted with chicken broth or make a simple gravy using the giblets and leftover bits of vegetables. Thicken with a little cornstarch.
- Allow the chicken to sit about 10 minutes after removing from the oven and before cutting into it.
Notes
- You will need a sturdy rack designed for oven roasting. I use the same rack for chicken as for the Thanksgiving turkey.
- By the way, I have more than one taker for the crisp slices of bacon that cooked with the chicken.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4
Decorative Spice Racks
One of my favorite wedding gifts was a large spice rack where the jars were suspended by their teak lids to a simple but beautiful teak rack. They seemed to float on the kitchen wall.
I used it for years where I had the wall space but in my current kitchen, the wall space between upper cabinets and counter top is not high enough to hang the spice rack within easy reach of the food prep counters.
How to solve the problem?
Magnetic lids allow you to attach the spice rack to the side of the fridge and it looks so much nicer than a collection of calendars and magnetic calling cards from the neighborhood plumber or landscaper!
The herbs and spices also add a touch of color to the kitchen decor.
Dinner last night was Poulet Rôti Four aka oven roasted chicken with vegetables. Oh wait – what to have as a vegetable?
Tender, steamed [popup_product]haricots verts[/popup_product] are a must and whether you pop open a can to reheat or steam fresh beans, they are the perfect side for oven roasted chicken.
Plain or seasoned, I would eat a whole dish of green beans! I’ve been known to eat them raw right off the vine.
Bon Appétit!