Easy Roast Chicken

Recipes:

• Marian’s Easy Roast Chicken
• Angela’s Stovetop Chicken

Double Roasted Chicken 
Planning ahead for leftovers is one of the smartest ways we know to save time and money. You’re actually creating your own home-cooked convenience products. Here, Test Kitchens Professional Marian Cooper Cairns shares her hands-off recipe for roasting two chickens at once. She sometimes places lemon slices and fresh herbs under the skin and inside the cavity for additional flavor, but the taste is just as wonderful without. Feel free to substitute your favorite seasoning blend for the salt and pepper.

Chicken Roasting Tips

• To ensure even cooking, remove chicken from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.
• Large (4- to 5-lb.) chickens labeled as roasters have a higher fat content than smaller broiler-fryers, so the meat remains moist without basting.
• There’s no need to truss. While trussing does create a beautifully shaped roast chicken, it can increase the bake time for the dark meat and prevent areas of the skin from browning.
• Try replacing the wire roasting rack with an aromatic layer of carrots and celery ribs or sliced onions. The vegetables and pan juices make a delicious start for soups or stews, and because you have no rack to wash, cleanup is a breeze.

Stovetop Chicken 
Test Kitchens Professional Angela Sellers prefers to cook her chicken on the stovetop. Seared to a golden brown, then simmered with a small amount of liquid in a Dutch oven, the meat is extra juicy and fork-tender, making it perfect for chicken salad, pot pies, and dumplings―plus you get the added bonus of a delicious broth for soup.