Friday, November 11, 2011

Rosemary Garlic Roast Chicken

This is one of the first meals I learned to cook in a Dutch oven, and is still one of my favorites.  Like many Dutch oven meals, this one is a complete meal in one pot - and it's easy.  I got this recipe from a fellow scout leader and his wife, who made it for us several years ago.  It's been a perennial favorite of ours ever since.

Ingredients are as follows:

4 split chicken breast halves, skin on
1 stick butter, softened
2 tsp chopped garlic
5 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 med onions, peeled and quartered
5 lg potatoes, skin on, washed and quartered
5 lg carrots, peeled and cut into 2' chunks
Salt and Pepper

Start the briquettes.  While they are heating, place potatoes, carrots, and onions in the bottom of a #14 deep dish Dutch oven and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Set aside.

In a bowl, combine butter and garlic.  Strip the leaves off two of the sprigs of rosemary and the thyme and mix into the butter garlic mixture.  Rub the mixture on the chicken breasts, especially between the skin and the meat. Place the chicken on top of the vegetable.  Garnish with remaining three rosemary branches.  Cover and bake at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes or until carrots are tender, skins are browned and juice from chicken runs clear.

There will be quite a bit of liquid in the bottom of your oven when the meal is cooked, so you can err on the side of adding more briquettes than you normally would without running the risk of burning anything.  There is no need to add any extra liquid.




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