Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

This is the easiest possible roast chicken ever.  I don’t know why my sister hid it from me for so many years but she finally gave it up.

Heat the oven to 450 Fahrenheit.  Put one tablespoon of olive oil in a cast iron skillet (yes, you really do need a cast iron skillet for this).  Roll the chicken in the olive oil to coat, and end up with breast side up.  Sprinkle liberally with the seasoning salt of your choice (Lawry’s if you are my sister, Johnny’s if you are me).

Put in the oven at 450 F for 10 minutes then turn down to 325F.  Then my sister helpfully says (you know when it is done).  It’s about 90 minutes for a 3 1b chicken, but I would check it at 1 hour then determine remaining time.  Don’t let it get above 180 F.

Remove the chicken to a plate or cutting board while you make the gravy.  The juices from this make delicious gravy – but you do want to be a little careful about the salt.  If you overseason, the gravy can get salty.  I try to use low-sodium chicken stock or my own if I have some to control the salt.

I have no idea if this is the right way to make gravy, but this is the way I make it.  I pour out two cups of chicken stock.  I don’t really measure the flour, but let’s say 1/2 cup for fun.

I put a little flour in a bowl, then whisk in a little of the stock. I keep doing this little by little, alternating flour and stock so that it is well blended and not lumpy. I pour all the drippings from the skillet into a saucepan and bring it to a boil over high heat.

Then pour in the chicken stock/flour mixture, whisking the whole while, and continue to whisk at full boil for 3 to 5 minutes so there is no flour taste.