Yummy Weeknight Roast Chicken

Recently I came across a food blog called The Cilantropist whose author is a young woman from San Diego.  I am not sure exactly how I found her other than I had been surfing through blog after blog looking for some culinary inspiration.  Nearly every recipe she had listed had me salivating at the thought of making it myself, not to mention she’s an amazing photographer so I could see just how delicious her food would be.  Needless to say, I immediately bookmarked her and have been “following” her ever since.   The recipe I’m going to share this evening is her Roast Chicken with Grapefruit and Cilantro. 

Quite honestly, this is the BEST roast chicken I have ever made at home.  Now, I will tell you that if you live in the San Francisco Bay Area and you want a delicious roast chicken go to my buddy Jon’s restaurant Radius in SOMA (used to be Julia’s Supper Club).  That roast chicken is probably the very best I’ve ever tasted in my life (and everyone I’ve sent there agrees so far)…but I would have to pay for a very expensive culinary education or hire a chef to be able to serve something quite like it at home.  Plus, you can be sure it was drowned in butter because it was just too good, and I’m not allowed to use butter in weekday recipes in my household. J  This particular recipe is geared more for the home cook.  The original recipe was an adaptation of one of Ina Garten’s classic recipes – one I have made nearly a hundred times.  That is what first drew me to it.  While Ina’s recipe is a great go-to staple with classic ingredients of lemon, garlic & thyme – there was something intriguing to me about the combination of Grapefruit and Cilantro.  Since I first found the recipe about a month ago, I have made it four times.  Including last night.  It’s THAT good!  Oh, and also -- this is a good time to mention that recipes like this are great because it teaches you a METHOD.  Any ingredients you think sound good together can be stuffed into the cavity of a chicken and roasted.  What I took away from this recipe is the desire to explore what you can stuff under the skin to flavor the chicken (stay tuned).  The flavors of the grapefruit and cilantro completely infuse the meat – and it comes out SO moist.  You’ve gotta try it! 

Ingredients

For the Chicken:

1 4-5 lb. Whole Chicken
½ Grapefruit (I prefer the Pink or Ruby Reds)
1 teaspoon Salt
½ teaspoon Black Pepper
1 ½ Tablespoons Butter, melted
Onions, small potatoes, and carrots (if desired) -- my favorite combination is onion, carrot and fennel served with mashed potatoes

For the Cilantro Paste:

¾ Cup Fresh Cilantro leaves
¼ Cup Olive Oil
1 ½ teaspoons Grapefruit zest
3 teaspoons Grapefruit juice
2 Shallots, roughly chopped
1 Garlic clove, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon Brown Sugar (I use closer to 1 Tablespoon)
1 teaspoon Honey

Method

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Rinse and pat dry chicken, removing giblets, neck, etc. from cavity (not all chickens have them, but many do).  Generously salt and pepper all sides of the chicken (inside and out).  Zest grapefruit, reserving 1 ½ teaspoons of grated zest.  Cut grapefruit in half, squeeze one half to obtain about 3 teaspoons juice.  Cut remaining half into chunk

s and stuff into the cavity of the chicken (placing flesh of grapefruit towards the meat for maximum flavor infusion).  Blend ingredients for cilantro paste in a blender or food processor until a paste is formed. 

Then, carefully separate the skin from the breast meat.  Gently using your fingers, create a pouch between skin and meat.  Use a spoon to transfer several tablespoons of the cilantro paste under the skin, on top of the breast meat.  Truss the legs of the bird, and tuck the wings under.  In a roasting pan, arrange vegetables (if desired), then place bird on top. 

Baste bird with melted butter (or you could use olive oil if watching your saturated fat intake), and then place chicken in oven to roast for about 1 ½ hours.  Check bird about half way through cooking time, if skin is burning from paste, add a tin foil tent to prevent further browning allowing the chicken to continue to cook until it comes up to temperature. 

Just a side note: there is much debate about the proper temperature for poultry…I recommend using a good digital thermometer making sure your internal temperature is at about 165 degrees, and that when pierced the juices run clear.  I usually cook my breast meat to about 170 and thighs about 180 before pulling out of oven to rest.  It pays to be safe especially when it comes to poultry.  Bon Appetit!

Suggested Wine Pairings:

Whites:  I prefer a drier, crisper white with my poultry – like a Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio, although a Chardonnay would go well too.  Last night I drank a Jacob’s Creek Moscato which was delicately sweet and slightly carbonated which was unexpected but it went along deliously.
Reds:  I generally stick to whites with poultry, but if you’re a true red enthusiast go for a lighter styled red like a Pinot Noir or Beaujolais.