Delish! Split roasted Tarragon Chicken

The first time I tasted the two flavors of Tarragon and chicken I fell in love. The flavor profiles are so good together. My neighbor invited us over for dinner and served chicken breasts with a Tarragon sauce...........mmmmmmmmmmmm. She is appropriately named, "The Mayor"! She has lived there forever, knows all the  in's and out's of the neighborhood, and is a great cook! I begged for the recipe, and eventually she gave in!! Just delicious! From that point, I really took an interest in "Tarragon" and started experimenting. This is one of the recipes, I have created.

I am offering you today a whole chicken, Split roasted or baked in the oven. When it comes to grilling a whole chicken, nothing beats split roasting. BONUS; I paired it with a 2009 Antica Chardonnay, from Wine on the Way!!

 Roasted Chicken with Tarragon butter

Ingredients:

2 cube of Land of Lakes butter with olive oil and salt, softened or butter of choice
2 T. chopped fresh Tarragon
3 or 4 sprigs Tarragon for Herb wand
1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
1/4 tsp. lemon juice
Salt and Freshly ground pepper 
1 Whole chicken 

 *when buying the chicken, make sure the skin is intact from the neck area to the tip of the breast or opening. You will be stuffing butter under the skin, and need the skin to hold the butter in as much as possible.

Everyone is in love with my chef and have ask to see his profile!! Next time I'll show his BUM! Introducing the "Herb Wand" by Chef'n!!

*Prepare your grill, heat to 400F.

Tarragon Butter
In a bowl, combine the butter, chopped tarragon, lemon zest and juice, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper. (I am using the new Land of Lakes Butter with olive oil and salt). Wee Bear loves butter, when land of Lakes introduced this butter with olive oil and salt, I thought ......YUM!! It has a slightly lighter quality than regular butter, there’s just a hint of olive oil flavor…and the saltiness is just delish and really sets it apart.

Herb Wand Preparation

Melt one stick of butter in the herb wand tray, put the tarragon stems into the herb wand and place into the tray to marinate. 

Chicken
 Remove the giblets, discard or save for another use. Remove any fat from inside and out and pat the chicken dry with paper towels.
 Salt and pepper the inside cavity of the chicken. Starting at the large opening area, carefully work your fingers inside the skin to separate it from the breast meat without tearing the skin. Continue to separate the skin from the meat, all over the breast and leg area, being very careful not to tear. Using about 4 tablespoons of the tarragon butter mixture, carefully  spread under the skin, as evenly as humanly possible....haha. Then, squeeze a sprig of tarragon on each side of the breast, under the skin. Pat the skin into place. Tie the legs of the chicken together with kitchen twine and tie the wings, by putting the twine around the entire body. The twine helps to keep the chicken from flopping around on the rotisserie. Secure the chicken on the spit, with the rotisserie forks and balance on the rod. Baste with your herb wand and season with salt and pepper. Okay, it's ready to go! Attach your motor, insert rod and turn on the motor!! 

*If roasting in oven, set oven to 375 F, and bake for 1 hour. Check it with your meat thermometer.

Make sure you have a drip pan under the chicken. Cover the grill and cook, basting occasionally with your herb wand. When chicken is golden brown and the thickest part of the thigh registers 170F, it's done! 40-50 minutes depends on the size of the chicken.

* Melt the remaining butter and drizzle over your plated meat.

Now, lets talk about the wine! From WINEONTHEWAY.COM, 2009 Antica Chardonnay, from Napa Valley, California. 

This chardonnay is one of the most unique Chardonnay's being made in California. It paired nicely with the succulent Tarragon chicken...mmmmm! It shows a gorgeous textural finesse and a fabulous overall balance. The signature Napa Valley richness is definitely there, but, cooler, more mineral driven in style. We tasted smoke, crushed rocks and citrus layered into a vibrant finish!! It was FABULOUS! Try this one this Summer! Just click on the Wineontheway icon on the right, you will be taken to the website. Remember: ANY 12 bottles is FREE SHIPPING!

*This i took from our patio, beautiful!! On 2012 May 20/21, an annular eclipse of the Sun is visible from within a narrow corridor that traverses Earth's northern Hemisphere. The path of the Moon's antumbral shadow begins in eastern Asia and crosses the North Pacific Ocean where it ends in the western United States. The Moon's penumbral shadow produces a partial eclipse visible from a much larger region covering East Asia, North Pacific, North America and Greenland.

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Happy Hump Day!! See you on Friday! You Rock! Love this Life! JJ