CITRUS-TARRAGON ROAST CHICKEN

This recipe takes a food our ancestors grew up on, chicken, and dresses it up for a modern recipe. Did you grow up eating fried and/or roasted chicken? I can still remember my grandpa killing the chicken and my grandma plucking the feathers off. 

1 lemon

1 orange

4 sprigs tarragon

6 tbsp butter, room temperature

1/4 tsp each salt and pepper

1 (4-5 lb) roasting chicken

Preheat oven to 375-degrees.

Grate 1 tablespoon zest and squeeze 1 tablespoon juice from the lemon. Grate 2 teaspoons of zest and squeeze 2 tablespoons juice from the orange. Reserve half of each fruit.

Chop 2 springs tarragon. In a bowl, using a fork, mash together citrus zest, citrus juice, chopped tarragon and butter. Season with the salt and pepper.

Using your fingers, gently loosen skin from breast meat and spread the butter mixture underneath and over the skin. Place the reserved fruit halves and remaining tarragon in the chicken's cavity. Transfer chicken to a roasting pan and add 1 cup of water. Roast at 375-degrees around 1 1/2 hours or until a meat thermometer, inserted into thickest part of a thigh away from bone, registers 170-degrees and the juices run clear. Transfer chicken to serving platter and tent with foil for 10-minutes before carving. Drizzle with the pan juices and butter from the bottom of the pan.

Yield: 8 servings

My version of a recipe I saw in a '23 First for women