Photo by Lizthechef
Lizthechef's Notes:
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one
5 lb. best quality roasting chicken
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1
head of garlic, halved
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4
Meyer lemons
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1
bouquet of fresh thyme, tied with string
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4 tablespoons
good quality olive oil
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kosher salt and ground pepper
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1 cup
good white wine
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Remove inner "parts" and pull off large glob of fat near opening of the cavity. Wash and dry the chicken, salt and pepper inside cavity. Place the halved garlic head and one lemon,also cut in half, inside the chicken. Tie legs together with butcher's string and fold wings under. Stick thyme bouquet half in/half out of chicken cavity.
Ask the hotline about this step!Quarter remaining three lemons and place in roasting pan close to chicken. Rub some olive oil over top of chicken and toss lemons with rest of oil. Salt and pepper chicken and lemons. Add wine to pan.
Ask the hotline about this step!Roast at 375 degrees for 2 hours.Remove the chicken from the pan and allow chicken to rest, covered, while you make the sauce (recipe below).
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2 tablespoons
unsalted butter, softened but not melted
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2 tablespoons
white unbleached flour
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2 tablespoons
heavy cream
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2 tablespoons
cognac
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Remove lemons from pan and reserve, keeping warm. Place roasting pan and its juices back on the stove and turn on the two burners it covers to low heat. (Be sure to add any juices collected under the resting chicken. A big chicken usually provides sufficient juices. You can add a little stock if needed.)
Ask the hotline about this step!Mash the softened butter into the flour and whisk into the pan juices which are simmering. Sauce will thicken. Add cream and cognac. Taste and correct seasoning.
Ask the hotline about this step!Remove and discard thyme bouquet. Carve and serve chicken on a warmed platter, along with the roasted lemons. Drizzle sauce over all or serve separately in a warmed pitcher.
Ask the hotline about this step!How lucky you are to have a meyer lemon tree, this sounds amazing.
Making this for supper tonight, as I need 2 left-over meals for a busy week in full swing. I think I need to increase the wine to 2 cups...Mine kind of evaporated a bit early, but oven is on the fritz.Good excuse for the new stove I so want. Still, need to try this with more wine from the get-go.
Mary, I am saving your wine for 3 special winter dinners...Besides, this is the perfect plan, oven on the blink, to order my Viking stove. ;)
This is just your typical recipe, Liz, straight forward, great ingredients and the result is a bright flavored delicious dish! Nice photo of the meyer lemons too.
Thanks, Mare, this year I am determined to try this with Mr. Turkey. I have never attempted stuffing outside the bird...Never too old to learn a new trick, right? I'm thinking cornbread.
By the way, this was the first "food" photo I took and managed to upload!
This has lizthechef written all over it--- you're so lucky to be awash in Meyer lemons!
Actually, this is the time of year they are big light-green golf balls, promising, ready by the December holidays. Then, I will have 9 months of gorgeous lemons.
This sounds so good. I just love chicken, lemon and creme. Yum. Yet again, love it!
Thanks - I'm thinking of roasting our Thanksgiving turkey this way...
The sauce/gravy here would be tasteless without the flavors from the chicken and luscious lemons. This would be equally good with turkey, I think.
Meyer lemon and chicken is a perfect match. Marcella Hazan first introduced me to this technique. It works especially well with poussin because one lemon will fill the cavity and each of your own guests gets their own baby chicken.
Sounds delicious - will you make this for me? And the photo is lovely. : )
Absolutely, on your next visit!! Thanks, Ms. Maefly ;)
This looks wonderful! I have just discovered a source for Meyer lemons (hard to find under 3' of snow in Nova Scotia) I will try this on the weekend. I love the elegant sauce.
We had leftovers for lunch today and my husband asked for a spoon - sauce turned out OK, I guess. Thanks and good luck!
Delicious! I love Meyer lemons, too and am sooo envious that you have a tree in your backyard!
Thanks - I have actually tried to mail some to friends back East, my home turf - didn't work so well. So, the next time you are in San Diego...
Todd is an adventure traveler and co-founder of the premier coffee roasting company La Colombe Torrefaction.
Our tree is loaded right now, full-on Meyer lemon season here in San Diego.