Roast Chicken with Wild Mushrooms

Ingredients:

1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms, divided
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened, divided
1 ½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 (7 1/2- to 8 1/2- pound) roaster chicken
1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can lower sodium chicken broth
8 garlic cloves, minced (4 teaspoons)
4 ounces white mushrooms, thinly sliced
4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Kitchen string

Directions:

1.    Heat oven to 425º F. Lightly coat a large roasting pan with cooking spray.
2.    Grind ½ ounce of the porcini mushrooms to a fine powder in a spice mill or coffee grinder; transfer to a bowl.  Add 6 tablespoons of the butter, salt, and pepper.  Mix well with a spoon until combined.
3.    Rinse chicken and pat dry with paper towels.  Tuck the wing tips underneath the bird.  Insert fingertips under the skin on the breast and the leg to loosen the skin.  Rub half of the butter mixture under the skin and over the breast meat and leg meat of the chicken.  Rub the remaining butter mixture over the skin.  Tie the chicken legs together with kitchen string.  Place the remaining ½ ounce porcini mushrooms, onion, carrots, and celery in the prepared roasting pan.  Set chicken on top of vegetables.  Pour in chicken broth.
4.    Roast chicken 25 minutes.  Reduce oven temperature to 375º; cook, basting every 30 minutes with pan juices, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165ºF, about 2 hours longer.  Strain pan juices into a measuring cup and skin off excess fat.
5.    Meanwhile, melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add garlic; cook until fragrant, 30 seconds.  Add the white mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, and oregano; cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, 7 to 8 minutes.  Stir in pan juices and bring to a boil; cook until liquid is slightly reduced and mushrooms are tender, 4 minutes.

Categories:

Phase Three, Phase One, Phase Four, Phase Two, Poultry, Phase One, Phase Two, Phase Three, Phase Four.