Weeknight Roast Chicken with a Lemon Tarragon Pan Sauce

This weeknight roast chicken can be ready in an hour! Seriously! There's a unique "twist" to the roasting method in that when the chicken is halfway cooked, the oven is turned off to complete the roasting. The end result is a super moist chicken, without having to brine! The Lemon-Terragon Pan Sauce is optional, but it's an added tasty bonus.

Course main

Cuisine Roast Chicken

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 50

Total Time 1

Servings 4

Calories 479kcal

Author Debby - www.AFeastfortheEyes.net

Ingredients

For the chicken:

1 tablespoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 whole chicken, 3 1/2- to 4-pound

For the Pan Sauce (optiona):

1 shallot minced
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons minced fresh tarragon
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Pepper

Instructions

For the Chicken:

Adjust oven rack to middle position, place 12-inch oven safe skillet on rack, and heat oven to 450 degrees.
Combine salt and pepper in bowl. Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Rub entire surface with oil. Sprinkle evenly all over with salt mixture and rub in mixture with hands to coat evenly. Tie legs together with twine and tuck wing tips behind back.
Transfer chicken, breast side up, to preheated skillet in oven.
Roast chicken until breasts register 120 degrees and thighs register 135 degrees, 25 to 35 minutes.
Turn off oven and leave chicken in oven until breasts register 160 degrees and thighs register 175 degrees, 25 to 35 minutes.
Transfer chicken to carving board and let rest, uncovered, for 20 minutes. While chicken rests, prepare pan sauce, if using. Carve chicken and serve.

For the Pan Sauce (optional)

While chicken rests, remove all but 1 tablespoon of fat from now-empty skillet (handle will be very hot) using large spoon, leaving any fond and jus in skillet.
Place skillet over medium-high heat, add shallot, and cook until softened, about 2 minutes.
Stir in broth and mustard, scraping skillet bottom with wooden spoon to loosen fond.
Simmer until reduced to ¾ cup, about 3 minutes. Off heat, whisk in butter, tarragon, and lemon juice. Season with pepper to taste; cover and keep warm. Serve with chicken.

Notes

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated Sep/Oct 2011 Issue

We prefer to use a 3 1/2- to 4-pound chicken for this recipe. If roasting a larger bird, increase the time when the oven is on in step 2 to 35 to 40 minutes. Cooking the chicken in a preheated skillet will ensure that the breast and thigh meat finish cooking at the same time.