Simon and Garfunkel Roast Chicken

All you need to know is "parsely, sage, rosemary, and thyme..."

I remember way back when I was living in my college apartment I decided I wanted to make a good, old-fashioned roast chicken for dinner. So, I called up my mom and asked for her recipe. She said, “Oh, it’s so easy! I don’t have an actual recipe. I usually just put a lemon, onion and some parsley in the cavity. Then sprinkle the skin with whatever I have on hand. Maybe some sage, rosemary, and thyme.”

I laughed and said, “Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme? So, it’s Simon and Garfunkel chicken!” Ever since then, the recipe stayed with me and the name stuck.

In reality, if you just remember that combination you don’t even really need a recipe to make a gorgeous roast chicken. I like to cook mine at 400 F and budget about 15 minutes per pound. It turns out golden, moist and delicious every time.

The chicken needs to rest about 20 minutes before carving, and that just happens to be the exact amount of time it takes to make Perfect Roast Broccoli I shared yesterday. Conveniently, they both cook at the same temperature.

This is probably one of my favorite albums of all time. I used to play the CD on repeat in my car, but nowadays I have the vinyl version that I love playing on my turntable. I am relatively new to record collecting and have just a small curated case of my favorites. Most of them I picked up at arguably the coolest record shop ever, Little Big Store, in Raymond, Mississippi. How convenient that it is walking distance from my sister’s house! If you ever find yourself down south and you have a passion for records, it is definitely worth a trip.

Simon and Garfunkel Roast Chicken

1 whole chicken - about 6 pounds
1 small lemon, halved
1 small onion, halved
Handful fresh parsley
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Remove the giblets from the chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Tuck the wings underneath the chicken to prevent over-browning.

Squeeze one of the lemon halves over the chicken and then insert the lemon half inside the chicken cavity. Insert the halved onion inside the cavity. (If necessary, use tongs to help get it really up in there.) Insert the handful of fresh parsley inside the cavity. Squeeze the other half of the lemon over the chicken and insert it in the cavity. (By now the cavity will be quite full and this will help seal off the hole.) Use kitchen twine to tie the legs together. 

Drizzle the olive oil over the chicken, then use your hands to rub the skin to make sure it coats the entire surface of the breast, legs and wings. Sprinkle the entire chicken evenly with the salt, pepper, sage, rosemary, and thyme. Place the chicken breast side up on a rack inside a large roasting pan.

Plan on roasting the chicken for about 15 minutes per pound. For a 6 pound chicken that will be about 1:30. I always set my timer for a little less than that and then check in on it to see how it looks. You will want the skin to become a nice golden brown. If it looks like it is browning too quickly, you can always tent it lightly with foil in the oven for the last 30 minutes or so. The chicken is done when a thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 F. Also, the juices will run clear. 

Remove the chicken from the oven and tent with foil for 20 minutes before carving. 

Hint: This is the time to cook the Perfect Roast Broccoli if you are making that as a side dish.