Lemon and Sage Roasted Chicken
Before I began growing sage on my deck, outside of using a bit of the dry sage spice variety in stuffing (you know the dry kind I mean, good scent, with a vaguely moldy appearance) it never had a real appeal to me.
Like most fresh herbs the scent of fresh sage has its own unique fragrance, vaguely familiar to a fresh evergreen tree, perhaps because perennial sage is part of the evergreen family, called a sub-shrub categorizing its shorter size as compared to its grander size family members though still being a woody plant.
Lemon and Sage Roasted Chicken
Outside in the planter, the sage leaves even in sub-zero temps of the winter remain standing firm, only less of their fullness beginning in the spring when plants return to life and overflow their soft, light color cross between olive and pale minty green.
Though I should cut back the stems in the fall, I don’t, since I appreciate looking at those woody stems with small remaining leaves in the cold wintry days as a little nature reminder contemplating the renewal season to come.
The waft of fresh sage dropped into some boiling hot oil then sizzled crackling for just a few moments creates a perfume worth even the inhale. The immediate scent curiously delivers an appeal of earthiness and matches well with any type of poultry, including roast chicken.
The Lemon and Sage Roasted Chicken is quickly achieved simply by lifting the skin apart from the meat and stuffing in thin slices of lemon to cover each side of the breast. Then top the lemon slices with sage leaves. The effect is quite pretty.
I season the top of the Roasting Chicken with some garlic powder, salt and lots of pepper and into the oven it goes. I sauteed some cubes of stale baguette from the day before into sauteed mushrooms to served along side the just roasted dish.
For a wafting finish heat your saute pan until hot add in a bit of olive oil and once oil is very, very hot drop in some leaves of the Sage swirling the pan for twenty to thirty seconds until the sage darkens and the scent is strong, then pour the sage with oil over the Roast Chicken Servings.
Though the Lemon and Sage Roasted Chicken is comforting food in the winter, the fresh leaves and scent will continue to inspire pleasant thoughts of the shooting leaves and new growth on the deck planter in the season to come.
Lemon and Sage Roasted Chicken
Ingredients
- 5-6 pound Roasting Chicken
- 3/4 lemon, thinly sliced
- 8 fresh sage leaves for lining underneath chicken skin
- 2-3 fresh sage leaves per plate for frying, then topping over sliced roasted chicken
- 4 tablespoons olive oil for frying sage leaves
- garlic powder, coarse kosher salt, and cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Thoroughly dry roasting chicken using a paper towel then place chicken into a roasting pan
- Carefully lift and separate the skin from the meat of the chicken and slide lemon slices underneath the skin all across the breast on both sides, top each lemon slice with a sage leaf, sprinkle chicken all over with garlic powder, kosher salt and cracked black pepper
- Roast chicken around ninety minutes until fully cooked and juices run clear, remove from oven then let chicken set at least ten to fifteen minutes before carving
- Once chicken is sliced, arrange individual plates with chicken pieces
- Heat a small saute pan to hot then pour in olive oil, when just near sizzling, drop in the sage leaves swirling the pan about for twenty to thirty seconds until the sage leaves take on a darker color and give off a strong scent
- Arrange sage leaves with clinging olive oil over carved roasted chicken pieces, garnish with lemon and fresh sage leaves
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