Lemon and Sage Roast Chicken

I think roasting a chicken is what you call minimum effort for a maximum reward.  The chicken basically takes a few minutes of preparation time and the rest of the work is done in the oven.  I love the wow factor of the bringing a roasted chicken on a platter to the table.  It always makes people think you were working hard to prepare such a beautiful meal...only you know it was not hard at all.

 I recently saw an episode of The Chew on TV where they roasted a chicken with the simple ingredients of lemon and sage.  Since I have been growing sage this summer, I thought it was a great time to use some up.  I adapted the recipe just a bit and the chicken was lemony with the flavors of sage. It was a wonderful roast chicken dinner that my entire family enjoyed. Now come back tomorrow to see what I did with the leftovers. 

Ingredients:
5 pound whole chicken
2 lemons (quartered)
5-6 sage leaves
3 tablespoons butter softened
seasoning salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp paprika



Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Mix salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika with softened butter (set aside until later).

Remove all the extra parts (gizzard, neck, giblets) out of bird and discard or save for another dish.   Then pat the chicken dry with a paper towel.  Stuff the cavity with the sage and lemon wedges.

Apply the butter mixture all over the bird. Place on a rack or create your own rack using long carrots.  Cook the chicken for 15 minutes in the 425 degree oven,  then reduce the heat to 325 degrees and cook for 20 minutes per pound (I cooked my 5lb chicken for a total of 1hour 55 minutes **see note below).  I basted the chicken once at the half way mark of roasting.  Allow roast chicken to rest 15 minutes before carving. Enjoy.

Notes: 

• The US government advises that cooked poultry should have an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
• If your bird is browning too quickly, cover the outside of it with tin foil to stop the browning.
• The juices from the bird should run clear so you know your bird is fully cooked.

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