I made a moist, tasty roast chicken for 4 tonight. Tip of the hat to ei-nyung for the recipe and low-temperature tips (I added fennel, as I tend to do):
I picked up a local, pastured chicken, peppered and salted it (about 2 tsp sea salt), put it in a Dutch oven, and surrounded it with 8 cloves of garlic, two minced shallots, minced carrots, rosemary, bay leaves, and a sliced bulb of fennel.
I browned it breast-down on the stovetop for about 6 minutes, then flipped it for another 7, stirring the vegetables around the edges to cook them.
Then I covered it with both foil and the lid for a tight seal and slid it into a 250F oven for 80 minutes.
I took it out, rested it under foil for about 15 minutes before carving, and made a simple gravy: I took out the roasted vegetables (to serve on the side, minus the bay leaves, as almost a vegetable jam), strained out most of the fat, and cooked the juices down with the juice of two meyer lemons, making about a cup of brightly tart/rich sauce.
A spinach and farmer cheese salad, some very sweet first snap peas of the season, carrots, baby radishes, and a friend’s excellent shaker lemon pie rounded out the meal. It’s good to be back in springtime.
The Robot Must Eat 
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