Roast Chicken with Crunchy Buttery Bread Sauce

Roast Chicken with Crunchy Buttery Bread Sauce

The success of this dish relies on a few things: a well seasoned chicken, dried bread cubes leftover from a good quality sourdough, and a hot roasting oven.

1 whole 3lb Chicken

Olive oil & Kosher Salt, as needed

½ cup Tomato Puree

½ lemon, cut into 4 wedges

2 shallots, each cut into 4-6 wedges

1-2 carrots, cut into ½ inch slices

3 cups bread cubes (1 ½ inch cubes of bread, very dried out)

5 tbsp. unsalted butter or compound butter (see below)

1 cup chicken stock

• Preheat oven to 425°F

• Rub chicken all over with salt and olive oil (approximately 2 ½ tsp. salt)

• Drizzle the bottom of a roasting pan or pot, where everything will fit fairly snug, with olive oil

• Dot the bottom with tomato puree, then lay chicken in the middle and surround with lemon, shallot & carrot

• Dot with butter pats and pour in chicken stock

• Roast for 1 hour or until chicken is golden brown, crisp and done (leg temperature registers 165°F/75°C), or leg is quite loose to wiggle and breast meat is firm to the touch. 

• Let rest 10-15 minutes, then carve the chicken and serve with all of the delicious bread cube & vegetable saucy goodness.   

• Don’t forget to make a quick stock out of the carcass.  Just add an onion, carrot & celery, a bay leaf or two, cover with cold water and simmer for an hour or two.