A great one-tray roasted meal with tangy vegetables roasted in the chicken drippings; a fantastic comfort food.
Ingredients:
- 1 Roaster chicken, between 5 and 7 lbs
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup canola, corn or other high-heat oil, divided
- 1/2 cup your favorite barbecue sauce
- 1 tbsp Salt and 1 tsp Salt, divided
- 1 tbsp Pepper and 1 tsp pepper, divided
- 2 to 2.5 lbs russet potatoes
- 1 medium onion
- 5 carrots
- Juice of 2 lemons
- 3 tbsp Greek seasoning, like Cavender’s All Purpose Greek Seasoning
- Non-stick cooking spray
Equipment:
Large roasting pan, kitchen shears, remote probe thermometer
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375° F.
Wash and peel the potatoes and chop them to large, dice-sized pieces. Peel the carrots and chop into 1 to 2 inch pieces. In a large bowl, combine the potatoes and carrots with the garlic, 1 tbsp salt, 1 tbsp pepper, 2 tbsp Greek seasoning, the lemon juice and the oil, reserving 2 tbsp of oil for the chicken. Stir to combine.
Peel and quarter the onion.
Coat the inside of the roasting pan with cooking spray, including the sides. Add the potato and carrot mixture to the roasting tray, and add the onion quarters to the corners of the tray.
Roast the vegetables on the middle rack of the oven for 35 minutes. While this is cooking, prepare the chicken, below.
Thoroughly rinse the chicken and pat dry with paper towels. On a cutting board, use the kitchen shears to spatchcock the chicken. A decent video tutorial is available here.
Using the reserved oil, evenly coat the inside and out of the chicken along with the 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper.
When the potatoes have reached the 40 minute mark, stir the potatoes around for even cooking, and create a shallow spot in the middle of the potatoes for the chicken (most will have to be moved toward the edges). Place the chicken skin-side up, tuck the wingtips under the bird, and evenly coat the chicken skin with the barbecue sauce.
Place the probe thermometer in the thickest part of the meat (usually the thigh or breast) and set the probe thermometer to 165° F. Place the pan back in the oven until the chicken reaches the fully cooked temperature (about 30-45 minutes depending on chicken size and your oven).
Allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes, remove the chicken and subdivide as desired. Scoop the vegetables into a bowl while draining any excess oil.
Serves 4 to 6.
