Roasted Lemon-Garlic-Rosemary Chicken with String Beans, Caramelized Onions, and Garlic-Rosemary Potatoes Roasted in Duck Fat

Roasting a whole chicken has got to be one of the best ways to cook it, producing tender, juicy, and flavorful meat. It's really the ultimate comfort food! There are countless variations of roasted chicken, but this time, I decided to stick to the tried-and-true classic flavorings of extra-virgin olive oil, rosemary, lemon, and garlic because it brings back fond memories of the lemon-garlic-rosemary rotisserie chicken that my mom used to buy for dinner. I paired it with two equally mouthwatering sides, which worked incredibly well with the chicken: sautéed string beans with caramelized onions (recipe too simple and intuitive to include), and garlic-rosemary potatoes roasted in duck fat. Yum... duck fat. In the culinary world, it's seen as liquid gold - it makes the outside of the potatoes crispy and imparts a rich, savory, out-of-this-world flavor to them that is even better than butter. It's how French fries are traditionally made! Hey, did you know that duck fat is actually lower in saturated fat and higher in polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats (ie. the good fats) than butter? Although I only mentioned that so I could feel less guilty about eating duck fat... *hangs head*.

A few tips to remember when roasting a chicken:
1. Pick a free-range, organic chicken. It will make a significant difference. Watch 'Food, Inc.' (a documentary about how our food is now being produced), if you haven't already, and you'll be enlightened about the unhealthy conditions that regular mass-produced chickens are raised under! Most of the chickens we consume have been caged inside tiny, overcrowded coops filled with their own feces, fed hormones, antibiotics, and animal by-products (instead of grains, their natural food), and frequently become sick (is it any wonder why that happens?). And horror of horrors, even the sick birds get sent to the factory to be processed - disgusting! These conditions produce chickens that are less moist, less flavorful, and less healthy.
2. Season it ahead of time. If you neglected to buy a free-range/kosher/organic bird, make sure to brine the bird so the meat will remain juicy as it cooks. Otherwise, brining is probably an unnecessary step so just season it and refrigerate for at least an hour. Brining is basically soaking the chicken for several hours or overnight in enough salted water to cover the entire bird and whatever other herbs you decide to toss in for extra flavor. If you care to know how the scientific process of brining works, it basically forces water into the muscle tissues, and when that water flows out, salt flows in and begins to break down some of the proteins in the cells, which in turn creates more room for more water to flow in.
3. Take the chicken out of the refrigerator at least an hour before cooking. A cold bird straight from the fridge won't roast evenly; the outside will cook but the interior will be underdone.
4. Choose the right pan for the job. Roast the chicken in an ovenproof dish or pan that's about the same size as the chicken. If you use a pan that's too large, the juices that accumulate while the chicken is roasting will start to burn and smoke.. unless of course, you're roasting potatoes or other vegetables alongside the chicken in the same pan (I used a separate pan to roast my potatoes).

Roasted Lemon-Garlic-Rosemary Chicken with String Beans, Caramelized Onions, and Roasted Potatoes Roasted Chicken Ingredients: • 1 whole 3-3½ pound baby chicken • 1 tablespoon sea salt • ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper • a few sprigs rosemary, minced • 6-8 garlic cloves, peeled • 1 lemon For brine: • ¼ cup sea salt • a few sprigs rosemary • 3 garlic cloves, peeled Directions: 1. Remove any organs from the cavity and reserve for another use. Cut off the wishbone and trim the fat around the edges. If you are brining the bird, skip to step 1a. If not: Rinse the bird with cold water and pat dry. Liberally salt and pepper the entire bird, both inside the cavity and all over the outside surface, including the back, wings, and inner and outer thighs. Carefully loosen the skin from the breast meat, using kitchen scissors if necessary, but take care not to cut through the skin. Pull the leaves from the rosemary sprigs and mince them. Combine the minced garlic, minced rosemary, and salt to form a paste. Spread about 1½ teaspoons of paste in cavity of chicken. Slip half of remaining paste under skin on each side of breast, then, using fingers, distribute paste over breast and thigh by rubbing surface of skin. Cut 1 of the lemons lengthwise into quarters. Place the lemon quarters in the cavity of the chicken. Tie ends of drumsticks together with kitchen twine and tuck wings behind back. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. 1a. Combine salt, crushed garlic cloves, and rosemary sprigs in 2 cups hot tap water, and let stand 10 minutes to release flavors. Add 1½ quarts cold water and stir until salt is dissolved. Submerge chicken in brine and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Remove chicken from brine and pat dry with paper towels. Cut 1 of the lemons lengthwise into quarters. Place the lemon quarters in the cavity of the chicken. Tie ends of drumsticks together with kitchen twine and tuck wings behind back. NOTE: Keep in mind that the longer you soak the bird in the brine, the saltier the surface will be when you roast it. I soaked it overnight once, and it was way too salty for my taste! 2. Remove the chicken from the refrigerator at least 1 hour before roasting. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Place the chicken, breast up, in a roasting pan or earthenware baking dish, and roast for 10 minutes. Brush the outside of the bird with olive oil and freshly ground pepper. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and cook for another 45 minutes, using tongs to turn the bird twice during the cooking. This will circulate the juices and fat and keep the meat moist. The chicken is done roasting when it has turned a medium golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast and thigh registers about 165 - 175 degrees, respectively. NOTE: You can prepare the vegetables while the chicken is roasting. 3. Transfer chicken to carving board and let rest, uncovered, at least 15 minutes. The juices will settle, the internal temperature will stabilize, and the chicken will be much more succulent than if you carve it immediately. Remove the strings tying the drumsticks together and discard the lemons inside. NOTE: The fat from the juices left in the pan can be converted into a sauce or a gravy. 4. To carve the roasted chicken, slice through the skin between the thigh and breast. Place the bird back in the roasting pan to do this because this will release a lot of juices. Tip the bird forward to drain the juices and then remove it from the pan. Bend or pull the leg out from the body and locate the hip joint with your knife, slicing down firmly through the joint to remove the leg. To remove the drumstick, hold the knob of the drumstick and cut through the joint from the inside. To carve the breast, start at the wishbone at the top of the breast. Slide the point of your knife down each side of the breastbone. Then cut down along the wishbone towards the wings. Slide your knife under the meat, lifting it off the rib cage. Last, holding the meat away from the bird cut down through the wing joint, removing the breast and wing in one piece. Either carve the breast into slices or cut it in half diagonally, making the half with the wing attached slightly smaller. The carcass can be reserved to make chicken stock. Garlic-rosemary Potatoes Roasted in Duck Fat Ingredients: • 2 pounds potatoes, quartered (I like Yukon Gold, but any waxy variety will do; Russet potatoes or other baking potatoes usually fall apart when cooked in duck fat, so they should probably be avoided in this recipe) • 2-3 cloves garlic, minced • 1-2 sprigs rosemary, minced • sea salt, to taste • freshly ground black pepper, to taste • 2-3 tablespoons duck fat Directions: 1. Wash and chunk potatoes. While they're draining in a colander, generously salt the potatoes and shake the colander to evenly distribute the salt. Place the potato chunks into an oven-safe pan and pour the duck fat on top of the potatoes, mixing the potatoes by hand to evenly cover the potatoes. Add the pepper and minced rosemary. 2. Roast them in the oven at 350°F for about 45 minutes, stirring the potatoes every 15 minutes so that the potatoes are evenly browned and the duck fat coats all the potatoes.