Rainbow Ranch Farms

These are wonderfully fresh chickens weighing about 21/2 to 3 lbs. If you order more than you can immediately use the best way to preserve for later cooking is to rinse each well, inside and out in cold water, pat dry and season with salt - about 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon for each bird, inside the cavity as well as out. You can also rub with slices of lemon before salting if you like. Then freeze them separately in home freezer, not in a deep free. Thaw overnight in refrigerator before cooking. Don't rinse again and additional salt is usually not needed for cooking.

To roast: Rub bird with olive oil and season with pepper and crushed garlic to taste. Fill cavity of bird with fresh herbs if available, I use a generous handful of rosemary stalks that I pull out and discard after cooking. Lightly oil roasting pan and scatter sliced potatoes, carrots, turnips, or any root vegetable along with several unpeeled garlic cloves. Place chicken on rack and set rack in place over vegetables. Lightly cover with paper or foil and allow to rest on counter for on hour before cooking (this brings bird to room temperature for more even cooking). Roast uncovered in preheated oven (350 degrees or 300 if convection roasting) for approximately 1 hour twenty minutes, until leg joint moves freely and juices run clear if skin of thigh is pierced with a fork.