Pssst…want to know a secret? We were really apprehensive about tackling this meal. You see, our parents’ chicken and potatoes are epic. They get requests from all over the world lots of people for their recipe and they are really happy to tell anyone who asks, including us, how it’s done. They say something along the lines of ‘take a chicken, add some potatoes to the roasting pan, pour in some lemon juice, olive oil, oregano and bake it all for a few hours’. Easy, right? So, we try, and it tastes good…but not phenomenal. Not mind-blowing delicious, like theirs is. Not let-me-tell-anyone-who-will-listen scrumptious, like theirs is. Not taste-bud-shockingly fabulous, like theirs is. “Why?”, we wondered. We did what they told us to, so how to explain the difference between their phenomenal chicken and potatoes, and our pretty good chicken and potatoes? For a while we actually started to wonder if perhaps our parents were magic. Magic would explain everything! But then we watched them in action, took detailed notes, measured and counted, studied their every step and finally we were able to reproduce their roasted chicken and Greek potatoes ourselves, in our very own kitchens! Hourray! We were once again amazed that such simple ingredients could produce something so marvellous…and so we thought, maybe magic is hereditary!?
We’re really looking forward to you trying this recipe for yourselves. Let us know if you end up with what may be the best roasted chicken and Greek potatoes you have ever had.
Helpful hints:
Once again the basic ingredients in this recipe are just that – basic. Therefore, one key to success is to use the highest quality products you can get your hands on. That means an organic, farm-raised chicken, excellent Greek olive oil, fresh lemons and good quality potatoes.
Our parents are wise and don’t wash their chicken before cooking it. You should listen to our parents. If you still need some convincing as to why you should never wash raw poultry read this (and watch the short video…it’s cute, and horrifying).
We’re not quite sure if the roasting pan that our parents (and we) use for this meal impacts the flavour at all, but it might. This recipe was made using a round metal roasting pan, kept uncovered at all times.
Some of the techniques used by our parents would probably not receive a celebrity-chef stamp of approval. For example, they flip their chicken over part way through the cooking process. Having read many, many cookbooks and watched many, many cooking shows, we are pretty sure this is unusual. But that’s the way they do it, so that’s the way we have described it.
If you are the one serving this meal keep in mind that the slightly burnt, stuck-to-the-sides-of-the-pan potatoes are usually the most delicious. Give those to your favourite child, or save them for yourself…we won’t tell.
One of the most common concerns people have when roasting a whole chicken is making sure that it is fully, and safely, cooked. There are a couple of ways to ensure that your chicken is safe to eat. The most reliable way is to use a meat thermometer and to insert it into the thickest part of the meat (being careful not to hit bone). Whole chicken is done when, at the thickest part of breast or thigh it has reached an internal temperature of 180 degrees Fahrenheit (or 82 degrees Celsius). If you don’t have a meat thermometer (Christmas is coming…time to update your list) pierce the chicken near the thigh. The juices should run clear and not be pink-tinged or bloody. For more information about chicken cooking times, you can consult the poultry safety information posted on the Government of Canada’s website (link here).
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