Garlic Roasted Chicken with Gravy
Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook
The Line Up
1 (3 1/2 lb) chicken
1 lemon, halved
1 onion, halved
4 fresh rosemary sprigs
6 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 c basic chicken stock, or low sodium chicken broth.
2 TBSP fresh lemon juice
1 TBSP cornstarch
3 TBSP dry white wine
1 shallot, finely chopped
1/4 tsp dried sage
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 c water
The Game Plan
Preheat the oven to 400. Spray the rack of a roasting pan with non-stick spray. Remove the chicken giblets and neck from body cavity; refrigerate or freeze for another use. Rinse the chicken under cold running water, inside & out; pat with dry paper towels.
Place the lemon, onion, rosemary and 5 of the cloves of garlic in the body cavity. Place the chicken, breast-side up, on the rack in the roasting pan.
Roast 30 minutes; pour the broth and lemon juice over the chicken. Reduce the oven temperature to 325.
Roast, basting frequently; until cooked through and the juiced run clear with the thigh is pierced in the thickest part, and an instant-read thermometer reads 180 (about 1 hour longer). Transfer chicken to a cutting board; let stand 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, mince the remaining garlic clove. Pour the pan juices into a medium saucepan, skimming off any fat and reserving 1 TBSP of the juices in a small bowl. Dissolve the corn starch in the reserved juices. Add the wine, minced garlic, shallot, sage, salt and water to the saucepan. Bring to a boil, and boil 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low and whisk in the dissolved cornstarch; cook constantly, until the gravy thickens, about 1 minute.
Remove the lemon, onion & herbs from the cavity and discard; carve the chicken and serve with the gravy, remove the skin before eating.
Coach's Post Game Conference
I used 3/4 c of chicken broth and 1/4 c of white wine for the basting liquid, instead of a whole cup of broth. Then I realized how LITTLE gravy that was going to make, and, if you've read other recipes... you KNOW that Team Matos loves our gravy/sauces... so of course I ended up doubling it.
I cooked the chicken as instructed, until my meat thermometer read 180 in the thigh, then moved it to the breast and cooked it until it said 180 there. The aroma in the house during the day was amazing! The flavor of the meat was great! However I believe that somehow it was still undercooked. It was tough to cut and nearly impossible to remove meat from the bones.
Also - if you're like me and LIVE for the scrumptious skin from a roasted bird, I'll let you know now, there is a REASON Weight Watchers suggests removing the skin before eating. If you follow this recipe as it is written, the skin will NOT be edible... it was like rubber. Quite disappointing after smelling it cook all day and longing for that golden, crispy skin.
All in all I will definitelly make this recipe again, and allow it to cook even LONGER. And I think I'll add some butter to the skin to make it crisp up better.
Served with mashed potatoes
Final Score
Coach - double
Catcher - Triple
The All-Star - Home Run (he had two helpings of chicken AND he ate all of his mashed potatoes... I usually can't get him to TRY the mashed potatoes!)
**Edited - please see label disclaimer in "True Confessions"
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