Originally designed to be roasted on a grill, I'm going to have to do this one in my oven. While I might be missing out on some good grill-enhanced flavor, I'm hoping that the skin will come out crispy and the flesh oozing juiciness -- look at how much butter is going into this bird!
Tarragon Butter Roasted Chicken
adapted from Cooking Club of America
1/2 c unsalted butter, softened
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1/4 c chopped fresh tarragon
1 tsp coarse salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 tbsp lemon juice, room temperature
1 (4- to 5-lb.) whole chicken
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1/4 c chopped fresh tarragon
1 tsp coarse salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 tbsp lemon juice, room temperature
1 (4- to 5-lb.) whole chicken
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Combine butter, garlic, 1/4 cup tarragon, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in small bowl until well-blended.
I started by combining the butter, salt and pepper before incorporating the garlic and tarragon.
Slowly stir in lemon juice. (If lemon juice is difficult to incorporate, microwave butter 5 to 10 seconds on high to slightly warm, being careful not to melt.)
I wrestled with this lemon juice part for 30 minutes. Details later.
Reserve one-fourth of the butter mixture (about 1/4 cup).
Pat chicken dry; coat inside and out with remaining butter mixture.
Fold wings back; tie legs together with kitchen twine.
Place chicken, breast-side down, over on a rack over a pan. Roast for 30 minutes.
Turn chicken, breast-side up; spread with reserved butter mixture.
Yes, the butter will melt and drip from the bird. Throw a probe into the breast and don't fret.
Roast an additional 25 to 35 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165°F.
Let stand 10 minutes before carving.
It really is too bad I didn't have any good photos of this bird during the carving steps. I tried, starting on the cutting board, but the juices squirting all over the place upon insertion of a knife called for quick action. All that butter was worth it.
Which reminds me of the 30 minutes I spent trying to incorporate lemon juice into the tarragon butter. A pain in the ass but not impossible! If your butter is as warm as it can be before melting, I think you can do this step without any problems. My butter wasn't quite that warm. Microwaving it for 10 seconds turned out to be too long, melting it. The juice and oil did not want to comingle no matter how vigorously I went about stirring the mixture. Into the freezer it went.
Checking with undo frequency, I stirred each time. And finally, finally! it came together causing me to wonder if divinity played a role. When the reserved portion of the mixture maintained consistency even when sitting out at room temperature as the chicken was subject to the initial roasting step, I was certain there was divine intervention.
The chicken turned out to be finger-lickin', bone-suckin', lick-smackin' good. The skin, for the most part, was exquisitely crispy, the meat ridiculous in the juiciness. Seasonings were exceptional, enough to make you clamor for more, more, more. All in all, deliciously satifying.
As usual, there is one thing I would change. I'd reduced the initial roasting time, the breast side down part, from 30 minutes to 20 minutes. Next time I'll stick with 30. The skin on the thighs weren't perfect, being a little too soft.
What's funny is how shockingly similar this recipe is to Bittman's Roast Chicken with Herb Butter. This one turned out to be amazing, as in vying for a high place in the ranks of All Time Great Chicken Recipes, but the Roast Chicken recipe was just meh. Maybe I should give that recipe another spin and see if I wasn't just having an off day then. Or I could just chalk it up to the magic of copious butter, tarragon's superiority over parsley, and the celestial nature of lemon juice.
Cost:
- unsalted butter: $0.39
- garlic: $0.30
- fresh tarragon: $1.25
- lemon: $0.35
- whole chicken: $4.71
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