Favorites, Gluten Free, Mains, MeatPaul Shetler Fastchicken, garlic, lemon

Garlic Lemon Roast Chicken

Favorites, Gluten Free, Mains, MeatPaul Shetler Fastchicken, garlic, lemon
Garlic Lemon Roast Chicken

Having an American-Canadian binational marriage comes with perks, one of which is two Thanksgivings: twice the feasting, with just enough time in between to allow for a full recovery. In honor of Canadian Thanksgiving, and the coming of cold weather, we wanted to share our go-to roast bird. This simple recipe avoids the complex trussing, stuffings, bags, frying, brining, injecting, or other techniques that can mystify and frustrate the home cook. Our Garlic Lemon Roast Chicken is ready for the oven in minutes, works every time, has moist meat and crispy skin, and is deeply infused with the flavors of lemon and garlic.

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Yield: 1 roast chicken, serves 4 as a main

Ingredients:

  • 1 medium whole chicken (4-5 pounds)
  • 3 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • pinch (about 1/16 teaspoons) cayenne pepper
  • 2 lemons (1 thinly sliced, 1 roughly chopped)

Steps:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350.
  2. In a small bowl, thoroughly mix the softened butter, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, and cayenne pepper to form a paste.
  3. Prepare the chicken by removing the extra bits (gizzard, heart, neck, etc. that are often stuffed inside the chicken), rinse with cold water, and pat dry with paper towel inside and out. Using your fingers (or a flexible silicone spatula), carefully work loose the connective tissue between the skin and meat on the breasts and legs. This is best achieved by slowly working your hand or the spatula blade between skin and meat, starting at the base of the breasts and working up toward the neck.
  4. In small amounts, use your fingers to carefully spread the paste under the chicken skin covering the breasts and legs. The butter paste can be some what lumpy under the skin. Try not to rip the skin. Any leftover paste can be rubbed on the outside of the chicken skin.
  5. Carefully slip thin slices of lemon under the skin, ensuring that at least two slices are on each breast and one on each leg. Any remaining lemon slices and chunks can be thrown inside the chicken's body cavity or spread on the bottom of the roasting pan to help flavor the drippings. 
  6. Set the prepared chicken onto a roasting pan or thick-bottomed pot. Use a pan or pot that is only slightly larger than the chicken, to reduce the chance of the drippings burning.
  7. Set the roasting pan on the oven's middle rack and roast at 350 for 1 hour and 45 minutes. The chicken should be cooked through and the skin browned and crispy. 
  8. Remove from the oven, and allow to rest uncovered for 30 minutes before carving and serving. This resting time allows the meat to finish cooking and for the juices to redistribute, leading to juicer meat. While the chicken is resting, prepare the drippings into a gravy if desired.
  9. Leftover meat can be removed from the chicken frame and saved for several days in the refrigerator. This makes excellent chicken salad!

Favorites, Gluten Free, Mains, Meat, Quick, SeafoodPaul Shetler Fastsalmon, lemonComment

Simple Lemon Butter Salmon

We've tried to expose Madeline to a wide taste palette, including some foods that kids find tough to love, like fish. In Haiti, her favorite fish dish is pan fried local Woz fish with a key lime butter sauce. While back in North America, we have adapted Madeline's favorite fish recipe, and make this Simple Lemon Butter Salmon. Madeline likes this Lemon Butter Salmon so much her hands shake with enthusiasm in between bites, and quite frankly, we adults aren't too far behind her! 

Favorites, Gluten Free, Mains, Meat, Quick, SeafoodPaul Shetler Fastsalmon, lemonComment
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Berbere Spiced Chicken, Doro Wat

Berbere Spiced Chicken evokes memories of Ethiopia, the place where Paul and I first became friends. During our time in Addis, I got sick and Paul was appointed my hospital companion. I found a kindred spirit and we spent the rest of our time in Ethiopia together at every opportunity. A few months later, back home again, our relationship evolved into something more. The nuanced spice of berbere is a shared food memory; the start of a relationship, excitement of plans, passionate discussions, and the flash of recognition at finding a life partner.

Berbere is a distinctive spice mixture from Ethiopia -- fiery hot balanced with pungent garlic and warming spices. Many households prepare their own berbere mixture, and tarps laid out with drying chilies and spices were a common sight and smell in Ethiopia. Berbere Spiced Chicken is our greatly simplified and adapted version of the classic Ethiopian Doro Wat. Once you hunt down some berbere seasoning at your local spice store or online, this dish can be made in an hour and half with everyday ingredients.

Meat, Gluten Free, World CookingRebecca Shetler Fastberbere, chicken, onion, garlicComment
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Caribbean Spiced Roast Chicken

Several years ago, while traveling in New Orleans, Rebecca and I heard about a local chef who made a traditional roast every weekend for a family dinner. Inspired, we began our own tradition of a weekly roast, sometimes meat, other times vegetarian. Our frequent favorite was a classic roast chicken with butter, garlic, and lemon. Adapting this dish to our new home in Haiti, we created a Caribbean Spiced Roast Chicken, drawing on the sweet, spicy, and tangy flavors found across the Caribbean basin. This combination of spices is reminiscent of Jamaica's famous jerks and Haiti's vibrant marinades, and the crispy skin will have you coming back for more.

Gluten Free, Mains, Meat, World CookingPaul Shetler Fastchicken, thyme, allspice, black pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, cayenneComment
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Chimichurri Chicken Kabobs

Delicious meat cookery doesn't have to be complicated. In fact, with quality ingredients, it can be down-right simple. Our Chimichurri Chicken Kabobs start with moist and flavorful chicken thighs marinated and sauced with a jar of fresh and vibrant Argentinian chimichurri. Making your own chimchurri is easy. Raising your own chickens, on the other hand, and ensuring top flavor, moist meat, and ethical animal husbandry, requires a whole different level of DIY commitment. When sourcing your chicken here are my top 3 tips:

  1. Don't compromise freshness. As chicken ages under cellophane, its quality declines and the tender muscle fibers begin to lose both moisture and flavor. Similarly, each time meat is frozen and thawed, its texture and moistness is compromised. Buy the freshest meat you can find that has been stored carefully without freezing.
  2. Keep processing to a minimum. Each processing step risks compromising quality and increasing cost at the register. Try to avoid buying meat that has 'stuff' added or injected. As much as you are able, do your own processing (partitioning a whole chicken, deboning thighs, skinning breasts, doing your own grinding, etc.). Not only will this give you more control over your meat, it will give you 'extras' to freeze or use for unrivaled homemade broths and soups.
  3. Find a brand or farm you believe in. Animal husbandry is tricky business, and so is finding meat at your local grocery that you can feel good about. Understanding how each company balances issues of animal well-being, human health concerns, taste, texture, environmental impact, and cost, is generally not decipherable from the labels and buzzwords found on packaging. Do your research, it's easier than you think. 

With Rebecca out of town recently, I found myself on a quest to identify the best supermarket chicken.  I'm not even going to share how much chicken I single-handedly cooked and consumed, but a clear winner emerged. In a funny small world kind of way, it's a family business from my hometown: Miller Poultry. From classic roast chicken to smoked wings, from chicken schnitzel to Chimichurri Chicken Kabobs, this is can-do chicken! While Miller's can be found in many Whole Foods, I found that it is also available in our local Shop N'Save.

Gluten Free, Grilled, Meat, Mains, QuickPaul Shetler Fastchicken, parsley, oregano, red onion, garlic scapesComment
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Sweet & Spicy Sesame Wings

For us, the month of May means barbecue season, and with long weekend celebrations this month in Canada, the States, and National Flag day here in Haiti, we thought it was time for chicken wings. We first started making this addictive wings recipe last year when an abundance of hot pepper jelly made it into the fresh produce boxes of our CSA. Paul created these Sweet & Spicy Sesame Wings with a pungent sesame, garlic and fresh ginger sauce that is a slam dunk recipe to add to your grilling repertoire this season.

Appetizers, Gluten Free, Grilled, Mains, MeatPaul Shetler Fastchicken, soy sauce, sesame, ginger, garlicComment
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