Brined and Roasted Chicken with Herb Butter

Bought two whole chickens at Costco, averaged under $4 a piece, put in the freezer for awhile, Found a new recipe in the local paper last week that began by brining the chicken in a large pot.

Fill pot 1/2 way with water, add 1 C each Kosher salt (it has less sodium than regular salt and no iodine aftertaste) and sugar. Mix until dissolved, add whole rinsed chicken and top off with more water. Place in the refrigerator and brine for 6 hours or overnight, Drain, discard brine dry chicken.

For the herbed part mix 5 T of unsalted softened butter with your favorite fresh herb(s), I used Thyme, S & P, 2 cloves of pressed garlic, some chopped shallots and chives. Mix and then spread 1/2 of the mixture under the skin of the chicken. I used a small wooden spreader to loosen the skin then to spread the mixture in the chicken. Spread the rest of the mixture over the outside of the chicken. Sprinkle with more S & P.

Place a sliced, peeled onion, some chopped or baby carrots and whole garlic cloves in the chicken cavity. Tie loosely and place in shallow roasting pan. Add a can of low sodium chicken broth to the pan.

Place in a preheated 350 degree oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes, (I have convection oven so I placed on "Roast", it browns up quicker), baste every 20 minutes or so then raise the temp to 400 for an additional 20 minutes or until the internal temperature with an instant read thermometer reads 165.

Remove from oven, cover with foil and let rest for 15 minutes, (keeps all the juices inside for a much moister and flavourful chicken), carve and serve with steamed asparagus and mashed potatoes. You can make a gravy from the broth by mixing some butter and flour and stir in to the broth, bring to a boil, strain and serve.

Bon Appetit!