Article: Rendezvous Roast Chicken Recipe

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Jun 10, 2024Recipe

Rendezvous Roast Chicken Recipe

Recently, we’ve started combining two of our favorite roast chicken recipes to form a new unique recipe – meet Rendezvous Roast Chicken! Inspired by Ina Garten’s Perfect Roast Chicken recipe and Natasha’s Kitchen’s Spatchcock Chicken recipe, Kyle pulled her favorite parts of each dish and combined them to create a finished product to be proud of.

Roasted to golden brown perfection and seasoned with delightfully aromatic herbs, paired with herbed butter and delicious vegetables, Rendezvous Roast Chicken has become a dinner party staple for Kyle and her family.

What is Rendezvous Roast Chicken?

“Rendezvous,” by definition , is a French way to say, “A meeting between two at an agreed time and place.” We cannot think of a better way to describe the creation of this recipe!

From Ina’s Perfect Roast Chicken recipe, we pulled the cooking temperature, the timing, and the preparation of the chicken, including the stuffing and dressing tips.

From Natasha’s Kitchen’s Spatchcock Chicken recipe, we pulled the use of herb butter. For our take on this recipe, we added thyme and rosemary to the Herb Butter mixture.

If we’re short on time or preparing on a weeknight, we’ll make sure to complete the Spatchcocking steps since that drastically reduces cooking time. If we're not not feeling as adventurous, we’ll keep the chicken whole, defaulting to Ina’s prep technique, but we definitely don’t skimp on the herb butter!

While roast chicken is such a simple recipe, there are so many takes on it, from classic techniques to tried-and-true favorites, and even those with magical powers {Ina Garten’s Engagement Roast Chicken, anyone?}

Why We Love Rendezvous Roast Chicken

There are so many reasons why we love Rendezvous Roast Chicken:

A roast chicken dinner is the perfect menu item for so many different occasions, from a cozy Sunday supper to a simple dinner party...just to name a few.

This recipe is a wonderful entry point for a beginner chef just learning to master recipes {speaking from experience!} and perfect practice to hone culinary skills.

This recipe can be a one-pan or one-pot dinner with loads of roasted vegetables, or it can be enhanced with a starchy side like mashed potatoes or lemony orzo with vegetables.

The leftovers of a simple roast chicken can go a long way in being transformed into many other different dishes like chicken salad, a sandwich, a wrap, chicken tacos, and so much more.

A Few Key Ingredients in Rendezvous Roast Chicken

Roasting chicken – A roasting chicken is larger than a standard, younger chicken, and serves more people.

Whole head of garlic – Plenty of garlic not only adds a sweet and mellow taste, but also helps to keep the chicken moist due to its natural oils.

Lemons – These tangy fruits add a bright citrus flavor and help to tenderize the chicken.

Tips for Preparing Rendezvous Roast Chicken

Follow these tips for preparing Rendezvous Roast Chicken:

Check on your chicken every hour or so - This will ensure it's getting cooked evenly and thoroughly.
Preheat the oven before putting your chicken in the oven.

Rendezvous Roast Chicken

Serves 3 -4

Ingredients:

FOR THE CHICKEN:

1 (4 to 5 pound) roasting chicken

2 lemons

1 whole head garlic, cut in 1/2 crosswise

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Kitchen Twine

FOR THE HERB BUTTER:

4 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened

1 Tbsp olive oil, plus more to drizzle

1 Tbsp rosemary, finely chopped

1 Tbsp thyme, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp lemon zest

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp salt, plus more for vegetables

1/8 tsp black pepper

FOR THE VEGETABLES:

1 yellow onion, peeled and quartered

Fingerling potatoes, washed and dried

4 whole carrots, peeled and cut into 3” strips

½ lb of brussels sprouts (about 12 or 15 sprouts)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
If applicable, remove and discard chicken giblets, and pat the outside of the chicken dry before generously sprinkling the inside with salt and pepper.
Cut the lemons in quarters, and stuff 2 quarters inside the cavity of the chicken along with the garlic. Reserve the rest of the lemons.
Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken and set aside.
To prepare the herb butter, combine the herb butter ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Mash with fork for a couple of minutes until lemon juice is mostly incorporated into butter.
Spread 2/3 of mixture under the chicken skin and and dot/spread remaining butter all over chicken.
Place the chicken in a small roasting pan (Ina recommends about an 11 by 14-inch to the surrounding onions won’t burn; if the pan is too large, the onions will burn).
Place the reserved lemons and the sliced onions in a large bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper.
Pour the mixture around the chicken in the pan.
Roast the chicken for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the juice runs clear when you cut between a leg and a thigh.
Remove from oven and rest for about 10 minutes.
Carve the chicken onto a platter and serve alongside roasted vegetables.

Note: Depending on your oven’s temperament, cooking times may vary! In our experience, we allow for about a half an hour extra time when preparing Roast Chicken, and we do not open the oven.

Note: If the top of your chicken is browning too quickly and risks burning, simply place a sheet of aluminum foil for the remainder of the cooking time.

Recipe Courtesy of: This recipe, which has our own spin on it, took cues from The Barefoot Contessa’s Perfect Roast Chicken recipe and Natasha’s Kitchen’s Spatchcock Chicken recipe.

Watch How to Make Rendezvous Roast Chicken

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How to Store Rendezvous Roast Chicken

Rendezvous Roast Chicken can be stored in in an airtight container, or in its cooking pan covered with tin foil, for 3-5 days in the refrigerator. Leftovers, anyone?

Favorite Things to Serve with Rendezvous Roast Chicken

This recipe features roasted vegetables as well, but if you’re wanting to expand your menu, consider including some of our favorite things to serve with Rendezvous Roast Chicken:

Pasta, such as orzo
Mashed potatoes
Beer Bread
Our Go-To Green Salad

Prepare It In:

We love to use our spacious Casserole Dishes to prepare Rendezvous Roast Chicken in. We offer two Casserole Dishes, perfect for transferring this delicious dish from oven to table in style:

We typically like to set out and organize ingredients before we begin preparing recipes, and used our Signature White 13” Ruffle Best Bowl and our Signature White Ruffle Bow l to hold ingredients.

Serve It Up:

To serve, set out dinner plates, such as our Signature White Ruffle Dinner Plate or our Signature White Rimmed Dinner Plate, which are the perfect size for a hearty portion of roast chicken and vegetables. A Signature White Knob Serving Spoon is the ideal serving utensil for easily scooping a generous portion of roasted vegetables.