Herb Roasted Chicken with Baked Yukon Gold Potatoes and Mixed Zucchini

Pretty Simple stuff here,

Just Put together a nice fresh or dried herb mix (I used Rosemary, sage, oregano, and thyme) I also added some minced garlic and then salt and pepper.

Rinse your chicken under cold water inside and out.  Allow to dry a few minutes.


With your hand, at the bottom of the breast near the body cavity, loosen the skin from the meat on the breast.  Do this on both sides (there is some connective tissue between either breast that should be left in place.  Do this also around the thighs.

Once it is loosened, rub the herb/seasoning mix on the meat, under the skin.

Next you will want to truss the bird.  This is simple, take some butcher twine (or even a descent strength piece of string maybe 12 - 16 inches long.  Bring both legs together and bind them with the string.  Next run the string across either thigh and around the breasts and then tie it at the top of the chicken tightly.

Place in a 425 degree oven, start with the breast side down for 15 minutes, then turn the chicken over so the breasts are up. Continue to Roast at 425 for 15 minutes.  Turn down the heat to 350 and continue baking for 35-50 minutes or until you have an internal temp of 160-165 in the thickest part of the chicken.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool 5 -10 minutes before carving.  Remove the butchers twine, cut the skin between the breast and thigh on both sides, then push the legs down to expose the breast better.  Cut along either side of the Keel bone (the breast bone of the chicken) and follow along the rib cage with your knife.

For my wife and I this is as far as I go for dinner, there is only the 2 of us so we don't usually eat the thigh or leg meat yet. If you want to eat the leg, when you pushed the legs down after cutting the skin, the hip joint should have popped out and you can cut between the joint and easily remove it.

After dinner, I usually will finish taking off the legs, I then remove the skin, and take off all the meat from the chicken and reserve for things like, soup, salads, chicken salad, sandwiches, or snacking on it cold.

Reserve all the bones, if you do not plan to make stock with it right away, place in a freezer bag and save until you are ready to make stock (see my roasted chicken stock post).

For the potatoes, I simply washed them and added them to the oven when about 30 minutes of cooking was left, they are done when you can pierce them and they slide off your fork or knife.  I Cut a slit in them and pressed the sides in to expose the flesh.  Finish with some butter, salt/ pepper and anything else you desire.

For the Squash, I trimmed the ends, cut in half and then slice half moons, I heated up equal parts butter and oil and once hot I added the squash with a little Salt and pepper, cook until desired tenderness is reached and serve (i do this after the chicken is out, it only takes a few minutes to cook).