A Little Chicken Roasted

A Little Chicken Roasted

I just finished an eleven day trip to Michigan's Upper Peninsula where I was camping in the UP's National Forest. My son joined me for the days he was not working and we had a great time.

When I'm camping in bear country, I try to hold leftovers to a minimum as I cook. That is why I roast a cornish hen instead of chicken when I'm at camp. I'll make a little smoky gravy to go with my roasted hen and I'll eat like a king.

Cornish hen roasted over charcoal that I served
on my recent camping trip with gravy.

When I'm at home, I'll roast a small chicken instead. If I have any chicken left over, I'll cook it into a stir fry and I'll use the bones to make chicken stock. Sometimes I'll roast the chicken in the oven, other times I'll do it in a covered charcoal grill for a little smoky flavor.

Who doesn’t like roast chicken? It simply tastes great. Most people rank Thanksgiving as one of their favorite meals. When you roast a chicken, you can serve kind of a mini Thanksgiving dinner at a very low cost.

This will make a perfect dinner for two of you, or one of me. You can build a whole feast around roasted chicken. It is quick and easy and produces impressive results. It is so simple, it is almost silly to write it down.

1 roasting chicken, about 4 lb. 

1 slice of bacon

2 pats of butter

1 shallot

1 onion

Olive oil

White pepper, salt and paprika

Flour, about half a cup

White wine

Chicken broth

Poultry seasoning

Preparation

Take your chicken and place it in a cast iron skillet. Finely mince the slice of bacon. In a bowl, mix the minced bacon and the two pats of butter together with the shallot, finely minced. Form two ‘coins’ of the butter mixture by pressing them between plastic wrap. Chill the butter coins to harden them. 

Slide your fingers between the skin and breast to separate it. Take the butter coins and and then place each of them under the skin over each breast. Cut the onion in half and place it in the chest cavity. Rub the top of the chicken with a little olive oil and then sprinkle it with the salt, pepper and paprika. Roast the chicken at 325˚ for about an hour and a half. If you want extra flavor, roast the chicken in the cast iron on a covered charcoal grill! The time will vary depending on the size of your chicken. You want the juices to run clear when you pierce the leg joint. 

Place the chicken on a platter and let it rest while you make the gravy. Take the skillet with the drippings and place it on a stove over high heat. Stir it and let any water boil off, leaving only fat in the skillet. Stir in enough flour so that it absorbs the fat but still can be stirred as a thick liquid. Season it with a little poultry seasoning and some salt and pepper. Add about half a cup of white wine. Bring it to a boil, stirring constantly. Start adding chicken broth a little at a time until you have a gravy with the right consistency. Let it simmer for a couple of minutes to make sure you have enough water in it. 

Serving

To turn this into a feast, simply serve some of the chicken next to a mound of steamed wild rice. Cover both with gravy. Add in some fresh bread, sautéed baby broccoli, a salad and a bottle of Pinot Noir. You are ready to eat like a king or queen.