Roasted Chicken & Honey Mustard Potatoes

Have you ever heard of engagement chicken? It's a recipe for roasted chicken that is supposed to be so amazing that your boyfriend will be moved to propose to you after eating it because it is the type of meal a wife would make. This is not that chicken recipe.

While I do think the concept of engagement chicken is a pretty ridiculous I totally agree that a roasted chicken is a beautiful thing. Roasting a chicken is actually incredibly easy yet the finished product seems impressive. I highly recommend it for company or a special occasion. It allows you to do a little work up front and then you're free to entertain your guests, drink wine, fold laundry.... whatever it is you rather be doing instead of sweating over a complicated recipe that you may just mess up at the last minute anyway.


I paired this lemony roasted chicken with roasted potatoes in a honey mustard glaze. If the oven is going to be on you may as well use it to make your side dish. Again, the work for the potatoes is done mostly ahead of time.

One note: I find that chickens (especially organic) really don't feed more than 2-3 people. If you are planning on serving a larger group make an extra chicken or two and adjust the other ingredients accordingly.

LEMONY ROASTED CHICKEN

What you'll need:
1 whole chicken (I recommend organic whenever possible. I think mine was about 4-5 lbs)
4 cloves garlic
1 lemon
2 Tbs honey
1 Tbs rosemary
1 Tbs Dijon mustard
1/4 c olive oil
salt
pepper
paprika
red pepper flakes

How to do it:
First you'll want to take the chicken out of the fridge about an hour before you want to start cooking. You don't want to put a cold chicken (or any type of meat) directly in the oven. Also, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

While you wait for the chicken to come to room temperature and the oven to heat prepare the rub for the chicken.  First chop the garlic gloves and zest the lemon. Be careful to only remove the yellow parts and not the white pith, which is very bitter. Combine about 3/4 of the garlic and all of the lemon zest in a bowl. Add the honey, rosemary, mustard and the juice of half the lemon. Add a generous pinch of salt (about 1/2 tsp), a good amount of black pepper and some red pepper. Combine with a fork or whisk and then slowly stream in about 1/4 cup of olive oil. Set aside.

After the chicken is at room temperature remove the neck and giblets from the cavity, put it in a roasting pan (preferably one with a rack that will elevate the chicken) and pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Sprinkle generously with salt, pepper and paprika. Be sure you add a bit of salt inside the cavity too.

Put the two lemon halves (one has been squeezed, one hasn't) and the remaining garlic in the cavity. Now spread the rub you prepared all over the chicken. Make sure you lift the skin a bit and get some right on the breasts. Dont' neglect the thighs and legs and be add a little to the cavity as well.

At this point I sprinkled a bit more olive oil, salt, pepper and paprika on top for good measure. I also recommend that you tuck the wing tips under the bird before you put the chicken in the oven. You can see from the photo of my finished product below that I forgot this step and my wing tips burned.

If you do have a roasting rack I recommend putting an inch or so of water in the bottom of the pan. This will help to keep the chicken moist and will stop the drippings from burning and sticking to your pan. Skip this step if you don't have a roasting rack. In that case you may want to put the chicken on a bed of an onion and/or some celery and carrots. It helps to prop up the chicken a bit and makes a pan sauce.

Put the chicken in the oven and cook at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and cook for 45-60 more minutes. I think I cooked mine for about 50 more minutes after the initial 15. This will depend on your oven and the size of the chicken. I recommend using a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the breast about 45 minutes in. You want the temperature to be about 165. The temperature will continue to rise while it rests.

Once the chicken is ready remove it from the oven and cover with tin foil. Allow to rest for about 10 minutes before carving.

Carve and enjoy!

HONEY MUSTARD POTATOES

What you'll need:

1 lb waxy potatoes (I used an awesome mixed color medley from Trader Joe's. Avoid russets; which is what you would usually use for a baked potato)

2 Tbs Dijon mustard

2 Tbs honey

3 Tbs olive oil, divided

salt

pepper

red pepper flakes

1 handful fresh parsley, chopped

How to do it:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Wash and dry the potatoes and then cut them into chunks - about an inch or so in size. Add them to a roasting pan. I sometimes use cookie sheets for roasted potatoes but you'll want a pan with somewhat higher sides for this dish.

Dress the potatoes with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil, a generous amount of salt (about 1/2 tsp) and black pepper. Combine well so all potatoes are coated. Roast the potatoes for about 30 minutes. Turn them over one or twice so that the potatoes brown evenly.

While the potatoes cook prepare the glaze. Combine the mustard, honey and olive oil in a bowl. Add a good pinch of salt, black pepper and a bit of red pepper flakes. Stir to combine.

Once the potatoes are browned and nearly done, remove the pan from the oven and mix in the glaze - coating the potatoes evenly. Return to the oven and cook for another ten minutes or so.

Karl noted that these would also taste great with some bacon fat so if you happen to have any leftover from breakfast feel free to add that to the glaze.

 After 10 minutes remove them from the oven and taste. Add another sprinkling of salt if you need and add the fresh parsley. Delicious!

Some tips for making these dishes together:

1. Prep the chicken
2. Make the rub
3. Prep the potatos
4. Make the glaze
5. Add pototoes to oven when chicken has about 30 more minutes to go
6. Add glaze to potatoes when you remove chicken and rest it
7. Potatoes will be done when chicken is fully rested