Today, we are getting into the main course! 🍗
For the main dish, we will be serving Roast Chicken with Brown Butter Carrots and Sheila's Patates.
We suggest that instead of individually plating each portion of roast chicken along with the side dishes, we recommend serving everything family-style. It's less demanding on the hosts and allows guests to choose the quantity of each dish themselves. It also makes helping yourself to seconds less awkward!
With a family-style meal, it's important to think about positioning when you bring your main course and sides to the table. Some simple planning before your guests arrive can help you allocate enough space to each dish without the table feeling overcrowded.
ROAST CHICKEN yield: serves 6–8; prep time: 30 minutes + 15 minutes to rest; cook time: 1 hour
Ingredients
CHICKEN
2 (each 3 lb) chickens
4 Tbsp salted butter, divided
6 thyme sprigs, divided
4 rosemary sprigs, divided
4 Tbsp olive oil, divided
Kosher salt and black pepper
3 stalks of celery, chopped in
1-inch pieces
2 carrots, peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces
4 garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
4 cups chicken stock, plus more for jus
JUS
1 Tbsp cornstarch
4 cups roasting pan juices
Kosher salt and black pepper
Method
FOR THE CHICKEN
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Remove the chicken giblets, any excess fat, and leftover pin feathers and pat them dry.
Place each chicken breast side up with its legs facing you. Gently slide your fingers under the skin to loosen it, careful not to tear the skin. Rub the butter under the skin.
Place one sprig each of thyme and rosemary in the cavity of each chicken.
Place each chicken in a medium bowl. Rub with the oil and season with salt
With each chicken still breast-side up and legs facing you, truss it with kitchen twine to secure the legs together and the wings to the bird's body. (There are some great YouTube videos available online to show you how to do this.)
Mix the celery, carrots, garlic, bay leaves, and stock in a roasting pan large enough to hold both chickens snugly without crowding. Add the remaining rosemary and thyme.
Place the chickens on top of the vegetables. Roast, uncovered, for 30 minutes, then baste each chicken with the roasting pan juices every 15 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 165°F in the center of the breast. This should take about an hour, but check the temperature with a meat thermometer to be sure.
Remove the chicken from the baking dish and transfer it to a platter to rest for 15 minutes before serving.
Strain the roasting pan juices, reserving the liquid to make the jus.
FOR THE JUS
Whisk the cornstarch in 3 Tbsp of cold water until completely combined to make a slurry. Set aside.
Place the roasting pan juices in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. You may want to add some stock to increase the yield.
Reduce the heat to medium, add the cornstarch slurry, and cook, stirring frequently, until the jus is thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm alongside the chicken.
SHEILA'S PATATES yield: 6–8; prep time: 15 minutes; cook time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
½ cup canola oil
1 cup butter
3 lb baby new potatoes, washed and quartered
Kosher salt and black pepper
Method
Warm a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, then add the oil and butter. Once the butter has melted, add the potatoes and stir to coat.
Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are golden and cooked through, about 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve warm.
Seb says: Why do we use the French name for potatoes? Well, the recipe comes from my French mother, and my brother and I grew up calling these by their French name. Even today, our entire family still calls them palates.
BROWN BUTTER CARROTS yield: serves 6–8; prep time: 20 minutes; cook time: 25 minutes
Ingredients
2 bunches of field carrots
(12-16 carrots)
2 Tbsp olive oil
½ cup butter
Kosher salt and black pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Trim the carrot greens down to 2 inches and scrub the carrots to remove any dirt. Pat dry with a paper towel and place on the prepared baking sheet.
Drizzle the carrots with the oil and dot with pats of the butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Bake, turning after 10 minutes to coat evenly with butter, until slightly caramelized and easily pierced with a fork, 25 minutes.
Be sure to check us out on Instagram @sebandsheila!