1 whole chicken between 4 to 5 lbs, giblet removed
4 smashed garlic cloves
1 lemon, quartered (2 quarters reserved for future use)
2 portobello mushrooms, chopped into one inch pieces
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
1 shallot, minced
1/3 cup red wine
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 dried thyme
1/4 cup cream
fresh ground pepper to taste
Instructions
Pre-heat oven to 375.
Make the butter: When the butter has softened, combine it with the 2 cloves minced garlic, sage, parsley, salt and pepper. Work at it vigorously with a sturdy spoon and it will soon be blended into a nice consistency with the ingredients well distributed. You can microwave the butter for 5 or 10 seconds if it hasn’t softened enough to work with.
Prep the chicken: Have a large roasting pan ready. Rinse the chicken and pat dry, and place on a cutting board to do the prep. Use your fingers to lift up the skin on the breast a bit. Take about 2 tbsp of butter and insert under the skin, rubbing into the breast meat.
Rub the remaining butter all over the skin, making sure the chicken is thoroughly coated. Insert the smashed garlic, lemon and any remaining butter into the chicken cavity.
Place the chicken breast side up into a roasting pan, and roast for approximately 90 minutes. Ovens vary, so you’ll want to get a sense of whether you typically need a bit more or less time than recipes call for. You don’t want to overcook the chicken, nor do you want it raw. You can determine doneness with a meat thermometer, but I prefer the method of piercing the thick thigh meat or cutting into it a bit–the juices should run clear and the breast meat should be white, but still good and juicy.
When done, place the chicken on a carving board and let rest for 10 minutes. Save that pan juice for the sauce.
Start prepping the sauce ingredients after the chicken has roasted for about 45 minutes. Heat the olive oil on medium, and add the shallots. Saute until softened, about 5 minutes.
Add the mushrooms, stir occasionally. Cook for about 5 minutes until they start to get soft and begin to “sweat”. Add the red wine and butter, stir to combine. Simmer for another 5 minutes or so to reduce the liquid by roughly half.
Keep mushrooms warm on low heat until the chicken is done roasting. After you remove the cooked chicken from the roasting pan, pour up to 1 cup of the juices into the sauce. Add the parsley, thyme and pepper after pouring in the pan juices. Simmer for about 10 minutes to reduce the liquid, stirring frequently. Finish by stirring in the cream.
Carve the chicken, and plate along with your sides. Scoop about 2 tablespoons of mushrooms over the chicken, and offer the extra sauce at the table. Enjoy!
