Chicken Soup with a Splash of Mustard

So, if you are like me and Chicken Soup / Matzo Ball Soup, is why you are here on earth, then have I got a recipe for you.   I LOVE LOVE roasting a chicken.  I love making the rub, I love experimenting with various rubs and flavors.  In fact,  you can say I get of a high when my roasted chicken comes out perfectly.  More importantly, its what I do with the chicken afterwards that really captures the flavor.

The first thing is the rub. I have experimented with fresh lemons, limes, garlic, even cloves, but the more complicated I got the less flavorful it was.  I decided to go back to the basic and do a spin on the classic roasted chicken.  The one thing that I kept in through all my experimenting is ground mustard.  It adds just a hint of deep flavor, but not over powering. 

So, here goes my rub:

1 Tablespoon of Pepper

1 Tablespoon of Salt

2 Teaspoons of Ground Mustard Powder

2 Teaspoons of Garlic Powder (Yes, you can definitely use fresh garlic, but I have to admit, its easier to run the powder under the skin.)

Combined all ingredients into a mixing bowl and by hand mix it all together.

As you can see I Truss my chicken.  I will say I used to not Truss and then I read in EVERY culinary book you HAVE to truss the chicken. Being that I like to not conform, I ignored all the culinary books. Then one day,  I roasted a dry chicken.  It was then I said Sarah, you need to truss.  So, since then my chicken has tasted much more moist and flavorful.  Definitely truss.  (Here is a l ink to Trussing. I figured its easier than me explaining it.  (http://www.howcast.com/videos/8690-How-to-Truss-a-Chicken)

Once the chicken is trussed cut up:

1-2 sweet onions

2 Carrots - chopped

2 Celery Stalks Chopped

4 Garlic Cloves

Roast in the oven at 400 degrees for about 90 minutes for a 3 pound chicken.