Oh the smells from this one! It really just fills the house with this amazing, almost Thanksgiving-like vibe. All from one pot. It can be prepped ahead and just popped into the oven – or made on the fly. It’s super easy and just good. Really, really good. Company good. Defintely, impressive date good. I’ve adapted this recipe from the 500 Casseroles Cookbook by Rebecca Baugniet. That little book packs a huge punch, by the way.
Grab a dutch oven/Lodge Pan/Oven proof Skillet/Braising Pan/Roasing Pan/ Pyrex and line the circumference of the pan with the sausages. Fine to overlap them a little, or a lot, do what you want, it’s a rustic dish. Trim the root and dark leaves from the leeks and halve - throw them in a bowl and wash your leeks well. Cut the leeks into thick semi-circles. Use all of them, it may look like a lot but they reduce down. Toss into the center of the pot. Pour in chicken stock, about a cup, to cover the leeks but not too much that it submerges the sausages. The amount depends on your pan size, really. I use enough to come up a third of the way or so. It doesn’t need to be exact. Grab your bird, remove any giblets that may be tucked into the cavity, rinse and pat dry, you want the bird as dry as possible to get that golden brown skin. Lay the bird on top of leek/stock/sausage bed. Cut the lemon and bathe bird in as much lemon juice as you can squeeze onto the skin. Really make it rain here. Stuff the juiced lemon halves way up into that bird. (For this reason, I always recommend organic lemons, washed). Season bird liberally with salt, pepper and the dried tarragon which you should crumble and sprinkle with your fingers. Crumbling the tarragon really releases the flavor. That took what, 10 minutes? At this stage, you can cover and put in the fridge until it’s time to roast. Ideally, you want to let it get to room temp before putting it into the oven. When ready to roast, melt a chunk of butter (about a 1/4 cup) on the range. Pour butter all over chicken skin – or you know, baste with a pastry brush if that is more your style. Whichever way, trust me, use enough of the butter to really coat the whole chicken. Preheat oven to 425 on Roast. Roast uncovered on middle rack until thermometer in thickest part of the thigh reads 165. Cooking times vary but for a 3 1/2 to 6 lb bird with an oven temp. of 425° the cooking time will be between 50 minutes to 1 1/4 hours. It will continue to cook while it rests for 10 minutes – so let it rest for 10 minutes before carving. I always bring this to the table in the pan, on a trivet because it’s just gorgeous. I use a braising pan to do these roasts, so the sides are easy access. If you use a dutch oven with deeper sides, then bring it to the table while it rests and have a glass a wine – get your credit. It’s really pretty then you can transfer to a cutting board and carve. Serve with a crusty, warm baguette and some kind of easy green like a simple roast asparagus, if you like.
Ingredients
Instructions
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