Roast Chicken with Jalapeños, Lemon, and Garlic

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 Despite the fact that I only recently consumed copious amount of turkey, I was still craving fowl, thinking, no doubt, of the luscious and unique roasted chicken from Michael Ruhlman’s new book, FROM SCRATCH (the must-have for your cookbook library). Talk about magnificent! 

Generally, I am not a particular fan of roasted chicken. It always seems rather dry and mundane, but it is simple and, as such, I made this meal the first Sunday that number two son and his wife came for their extended visit while awaiting completion of their new home. I couldn’t imagine that a roasted chicken would be juicy, so I made sure to make gravy as well (we didn’t need it).

I wish you could have been here to experience not just the heavenly aroma of the roasting chicken, but its tasty, juicy, butter-like tenderness. The three of us were amazed at how scrumptious it was, all of us going back for seconds. I am now sold on roasted chicken, the Michael Ruhlman way; I have made it three times in the last three months. He has a number of different recipes for roasting chicken in his book, but this one is my favorite because the jalapeños give it a lot of zing (but not too much if you don’t like spicy). I have altered the recipe a little bit in order to yield more juices, I also roasted a bigger chicken (and hence had to bake it longer than the recipe states), because I love those leftovers! 

Roast Chicken with Jalapeños, Lemon, and Garlic
Adapted from FROM SCRATCH by Michael Ruhlman

Kosher salt to taste

1 3-4 pound chicken
2 jalapeño peppers, cut into 1/4-inch rounds, seeds and all*
1 lemon, cut into 8 wedges, seeds removed
10 - 15 garlic cloves, peeled

1 cup chicken stock
1 to 2 tablespoons beurre manié (recipe below)

Preheat your oven to 450°F.

Salt the chicken aggressively and put it, breast-side up, in an oven-safe skillet. Scatter the jalapeño slices, lemon wedges, and garlic cloves around the chicken. Carefully pour in chicken stock. Place pan into preheated oven and roast for one hour, basting the chicken several times during the last 30 minutes of cooking.

Remove the bird from the pan and let it rest on a cutting board for 15 minutes before carving. Place the skillet over a burner set to medium-low and simmer the sauce to thicken. If you wish, add the beurre manié while simmering the sauce, or simply spoon the sauce, garlic, lemon (one wedge per plate), and peppers over the cut-up chicken to serve.

*I used Melissa's Pickled Jalapeños. I always keep a jar of them on hand for anytime I need jalapeños.

To make Beurre Manié:

Beurre Manié is a great sauce thickener. It is nothing more than equal parts softened butter and flour, blended together to combine.