Roast Chicken With Meyer Lemon Shallot Sauce

OMG! I thought I'd found my new favorite roasted chicken method when I came across Ina Garten's plucky lemon flavored bird on croutons, but I'm here to say this version from Sunset magazine via myrecipes.com is every bit as delicious, if not better.

Salted and left to "dry brine" for 3 hours before cooking, lemon zest and thyme are placed under the skin and in the cavity along with sliced lemons and the bird is roasted along with a whole pound of shallots.

Now I know you're thinking how much of a pain it is to prep a whole pound of shallots, but the interesting thing is the shallots go into the pan unpeeled to roast and get all caramelized for an hour kinda' like you'd roast whole bulbs of garlic and when they're done, you simply squeeze the flavorful innards into a blender along with the pan juices and wine and stock and give it all a whizz. (I actually used my immersion blender). Returned to the roasting pan to warm up, all the good brown fond is scraped off the bottom and the shallots turn into an incomparable lemon flavored sauce.

I served our chicken along side yukon gold potatoes, parsnip and carrots all roasted in a cast iron pan in the oven during the last hour the chicken was cooking, and it was fabulous but honestly I'd be inclined to mash the potatoes and parsnip together next time so the sauce is put to its best uses. I mean really, what's better than chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy? 

Hit the link for the recipe and have at 'er. I only changed one thing - I didn't have any chicken stock in my pantry...I know, can you believe it...and the only wine I had was a blush, but I used a whole cup of it anyway and you know what? It was just fine, in fact it was a lovely kinda' pink tinged spoonful of bliss. 

 

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Comments

[Shaun]

Now that is interesting, I never roast a bird without lemon and garlic, shallots I have tended to leave for beef and only roasted them and served with the vegetables, never thought of blending some into the gravy! Now we have a chef over here called Heston Blumenthal who last year did his roast chicken, brined over night, cooked the next day at a very low temperature, similar recipe, now I've just got to try this for sunday's dinner!

[June]

Shaun - we really liked it. Salting the chicken and letting it rest in the refrigerator before cooking made for a super tender and moist bird with fabulous crispy skin. The puree of shallots, pan juices and wine was incredible...so much flavor for so little work.

[Shaun]

Now Heston puts dijon mustard and thyme in his gravy, the onions and maybe some roasted garlic added to that has got to be a killer recipe, mind you he also took a syringe and injected the chicken with its own juices which made it ridiculously moist...perhaps a bridge too far for a sunday roast..lol

[June]

Big Guy does the syringe thing with birds (and pork roasts) he cooks on the barby/rotisserie. He often uses apple cider or juice. It sure does make it moist and tender but I agree it is a lot of bother.

[Lea]

That looks so good - I bet with those lemons fresh off the tree were perfection. Shallots? - they are just like prepping onions to me - and I bet that amount flavors the bird wonderfully well! Wine! excellent choice as a sub! And I agree on the mashed taters!

[June]

Lea - I found the biggest shallots and boy were they ever good! Do you think your crew would like this recipe?

[Lorraine]

I don't know what it is about the beauty of a roasted chicken. Maybe it is its simplicity but there is nothing better in my book. Love the pan sauce idea, and not having to peel the shallots...perfect!

[June]

Lorraine - I agree absolutely 100 percent and as for the shallots, I'm just ticked I didn't think of doing 'em that way before.