ENGAGEMENT CHICKEN RECIPE: ADAPTED FROM GLAMOUR MAGAZINE AND MARTHA STEWART

Rumour has it that if you make this engagement chicken for your boyfriend or your mother makes it for you and your boyfriend then your boyfriend will propose in no time.  It is the "marry me" juices from lemon, salt and pepper that annunciates the proposition.  So all you single ladies out there who have boyfriends who have not yet popped the question, why not try and make this juicy tender chicken for your groom to be?

The engagement was on my list of things to make but I put it off because there were other recipes that took preference.  However, I was lucky my sister received a whole chicken as a donation from Woolworth to her workplace, a non-for-profit charity, Food Bank.  Food Bank collects excess and donated from from the public, farmers, manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers and distributes them to 2,500 charities and community groups around Australia.  Their motto, "An Australia, without Hunger".  Many public volunteers and Corporate volunteers come to Food Bank to help package the surplus food and do other ad hoc duties.  It is a great way to service the community and provide an extra helping hand.

Engagement Chicken Recipe: Magazine: glamour.com

Lemon Chicken aka "Engagement Chicken"

Serves 2 to 4

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 1 to 1.5 hrs

Rating difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

• One whole chicken (approx. 4 pounds or up to 2 kg)
• 1/2 cup of fresh lemon juice, plus three whole lemons (including one sliced for garnish)
• 1 tablesppon kosher or coarse sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• Fresh herbs for garnish (4 rosemary springs, 4 sage springs, 8 thyme sprigs, and 1 bunch of flat leaf parsley) NB: These are optional
• 4 Potatoes cut into slices (cut up one rosemary sprig, 1 teaspoon of ground pepper and 1 teaspoon of salt and season the potatoes for roasting)

Method:

1. Position an oven rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400F (or 200C).  Remove the giblets from the chicken, was the chicken inside and out with cold water, then the chicken drain, cavity down, in a colander for 2 minutes.

2. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels.  Place the chicken breast-side down in a medium roasting pan fitted with a rack and pour the lemon juice all over the chicken, both inside and out.  Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper inside and out.

Wash and pat dry the chicken

3.  Prick 2 whole lemons three times each in three different places with a fork and place them deep inside the cavity. Chicken cavity size may vary, so if one lemon is partly sticking out, that's fine.  (Tip: If the lemons are stiff, roll them on the countertop with your palm before pricking to get the juices flowing.)

4. Put the chicken in the oven, lower the oven temperature to 350F (or 175C), and roast, uncovered for 15 minutes.

5.  Remove the roasting pan from the oven.  Using tongs or two wooden spoons, turn the chicken breast - side up.  Insert a meat thermometer in the thigh, and return the chicken to the oven and roast for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the meat thermometer reads 180F and the juices run clear when the thigh is pricked with a fork.  Continue roasting if necessary.  Keep in mind that cooking times in different vary; roasting a chicken at 350F (or 175C) takes approximately 18-20 minutes per pound, plus an additional 15 minutes.

6. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before carving.  And here's the secret: Pour the juices form the roasting pan on the sliced chicken - this is the "marry me juice".   Garnish with fresh herbs and lemon slices.

Skin is extra crispy

This chicken ended up really juicy because of the lemon, tasty because of the salt and pepper and crispy because of the salt.  It's a very simple dish that anyone can make because effectively it's just a chicken stuffed with lemon poured with lemon juices and added salt and pepper.  I had difficulty cooking it in the conventional oven to get the chicken evenly cooked and I couldn't really put it onto a pan.  The chicken drumstick (above) looks like crispy duck rather than chicken LOL.  However, it was still a success as the chicken was still juicy, crispy and tender :)!