Best Roast Chicken and Vegetables

Roasting a whole chicken in the oven is easy - getting it juicy and flavorful - not always so easy.  There are lots of ways of keeping a roast chicken moist but I think brining is by far my favorite.  The problem is that most recipe call for 24 hours of brine time - that throws the "easy" part of the roast chicken recipe right out the window.  Is it even possible to create a roast chicken recipe that's both juicy and easy. 

A delicious roast chicken doesn't have to be a 24 hour process.   I've realized that reducing the brine time to one hour is sufficient for a perfectly wonderfully juicy roast bird.  

Best Roast Chicken with Vegetables
1 chicken
1/2 cup salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 pound potatoes
4 carrots, peeled and sliced
4 parsnips, peeled and sliced
4 teaspoons oil
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon fresh minced thyme

Use tip of sharp knife to make 4 incisions in back of chicken.  (Not the breasts.) 

Dissolve salt in 2 quarts water.  Submerge chicken in brine solution.   Refrigerate 1 hour. 

Place vegetables on a baking sheet and cover pan with foil.  Preheat oven to 450.  Heat skillet in oven for 15 min. 

Remove chicken from brine.  Pat dry with paper towels.  Combine 1 T. oil and pepper.  Rub over skin.  Pour remaining oil in preheated skillet.  Place chicken in skillet.  Place vegetables on second lowest oven rack and chicken on middle oven rack. Bake 30 minutes. 

Remove vegetables from oven and continue to roast chicken until breast temperature reaches 160. 

Remove skillet from oven and transfer chicken to a platter to rest. 

Place skillet on the stove and add water.  Heat to boiling while scraping browned bits from the bottom of the pan.  Cook until reduced and thickened.  Pour liquid through a strainer. 

Strain off fat and return juices to skillet along with roasted vegetables and thyme.  Saute until vegetables are coated and juices are thickened and syrupy.

Moist and delicious roast chicken and vegetables that's easy. 

This chicken ended up being last nights dinner AND today's lunch.  It was just as delicious today as it was yesterday - just in case you were wondering. 

Ciao!

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