Yankee Girl'S Southern Roast Chicken With Cornbread Stuffing
- 1 (5 lb) whole chickens
- 4 cups day-old cornbread, broken into pieces (I use the recipe on the Alber's Cornmeal Box, except I use buttermilk instead of regular milk, and I)
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Rinse chicken, remove excess fat from around the cavity and pat dry.
- Rub inside and outside of chicken with one teaspoon Old Bay seasoning and set aside.
- Spread corn bread pieces in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes, or until they dry out a bit - not much longer than that.
- Combine onion, celery, fresh herbs, pepper, olive oil and 1 teaspoon of the Old Bay seasoning in a mixing bowl.
- When the cornbread crumbs are toasted enough, dump the hot bread into the celery onion mixture and combine.
- Place the chicken in the bottom of a small roasting pan that has a cover.
- Stuff the cavity and the sides of the chicken with the stuffing - you need to separate the skin a bit from the sides to get the stuffing in next to the leg/thigh pieces - also stuff some into the neck cavity.
- Tie the legs together to hold the stuffing in with kitchen twine.
- Drizzle the chicken with oil, sprinkle with salt and a little more Old Bay if you like.
- Cover the pan and roast at 350 for about 1 and 1/2 hours, then uncover, insert a thermometer close to the leg/thigh joint without touching the bone- you're looking for it to read 180 degrees- it will be very close at this point.
- Roast a little longer uncovered until chicken is nicely browned and the thermometer reads 180 degrees.
- Allow the chicken to rest about 10 to 15 minutes before carving- this step keeps it juicy.
- Enjoy.
whole chickens, cornmeal, onion, celery, rosemary, thyme, fresh italian parsley, olive oil, fresh ground black pepper, bay seasoning, pecans, kosher salt
Taken from www.food.com/recipe/yankee-girls-southern-roast-chicken-with-cornbread-stuffing-111651 (may not work)