I was watching Gordon Ramsay’s Masterclass and this roasted chicken caught my eye. The Masterclass series is a great way to get not only lessons, but perspective from today’s chefs.
Everything was readily available at the market except the Szechuan Peppercorns, so I had to order from Amazon.
I had never used Szechuan Peppercorns before and were imagining them to be blazing hot, but I wanted to try the recipe. They were delicious in this recipe.Â
I had also never used lemon salt, so was anxious to see how that turned out on the chicken.
In this recipe you use the lemon salt inside and outside the chicken. The Szechuan Peppercorn/Black Peppercorn mixture is just used outside the chicken.
I have stuffed my chicken with lemon, carrots and onion before, but have never used fennel.
The end result of this chicken is that it was tender, juicy and very flavorful. 
The only part I know I failed on was the cutting up of the chicken. I am going to practice on whole chickens when I make various chicken recipes. I’m sure it takes quite a bit of practice.
The only thing I would do different is grate the lemon peel with a much finer grater. It tasted fine with the larger grate but think it would have looked better with the finer grate. 
This chicken is something you have to try. I don’t think the chicken looked so great on my first try, but It was delicious.
I took the roasted chicken one step further by making the Szechuan Crusted Chicken Breast, Udon Noodles with Bok Choy, Sugar Snap Peas, Shittake Mushrooms and Ramen Broth. Wow…that was a mouthful! That recipe will follow.
I chose a day that I had nothing to do, and took my time. There are not many of those days, so I took advantage. 
Making Chicken Broth from the Carcass
I even made a chicken stock from the leftover carcass and put in the fridge for future use. Which I used in my Pasta Fagioli soup recipe days after.Â
Anyone can make this chicken.
Szechwan Pepper Roasted Whole Chicken Stuffed with Lemon, Fennel, Onion and Thai Basil
Description
Deliciously tender, moist and flavorful.
Ingredients
2 Tbsp crushed black peppercorns
1-1/2 Tbsp crushed Szechuan peppercorns
Lemon Salt
3 Meyer Lemons
3 Tbsp Maldon salt
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400F. Allow chicken to come to room temperature before preparing. Stand the chicken neck side down on a sheet tray with the legs upwards and facing you. Season the cavity of the chicken with 1 to 2 tablespoons of lemon salt. Stuff the onion, lemon, and fennel wedges into the cavity so that the carcass will hold a nice rounded shape and not collapse while roasting. Stuff the Thai basil bunch last, into the center of the cavity with the leaves facing outward.
Whisk the egg yolks together to make an egg wash. Brush the chicken liberally with the egg wash over any visible part of the chicken skin, minus the backside of the chicken. This will act as a glue for the seasoning to stick. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of Szechuan pepper mix and 4 tablespoons lemon salt over every inch of the chicken.
Be sure to spread open the wings and chicken legs and rub seasoning in all the crevasses to ensure maximum flavor in the meat and drippings.
Use a 2-foot piece of butchers twine to truss the chicken. Wrap the twine around the body lengthwise so the middle section of the twine is at the neck area and each side of the twine is touching the wings and the thighs (under the drumstick). Bring the twine ends together and cross. Tighten the twine and pull the rest of the twine over the ankles. Wrap each side of the twine around the ankles to bring the chicken legs close to the body. Tighten the twine and wrap around the ankles once again, moving outward, to make the ankles touch each other and finish by tying the twine ends together into a bow. Make sure the twine is holding the wings and legs in place tight enough to ensure a plump shape for the chicken during roasting.
Place a wire rack between the chicken and the roasting pan to ensure that even the bottom of the chicken skin gets crisp. Roast in the center rack of the oven for 60 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the leg joint area reaches 165F. Remove from oven and rest for 10 minutes. Use a paring knife or scissors to cut the butchers twine at the point where the ankles meet. Carefully remove the twine and discard. Gently open up the legs and wings to allow the chicken to release heat. Drain the juices from the cavity and the sheet tray into a sieve over a bowl.
Place the chicken on a cutting board with the legs facing toward you. Place your knife between the left leg and left breast and use the knife to gently push the leg away from the breast and cavity. Make an incision where the leg and breast meet and cut to the leg joint. If you are not familiar with butchering a chicken, use your hand to bend the leg and look for the leg joint between the thigh and the carcass.
Roll the whole chicken on its right side and bend the leg further away from the breast and back. This action should snap the ball joint to dislocate the leg bone. Lay the whole chicken with its back on the cutting board. Cut through the separated leg joint. Repeat the same steps for the right leg. Rotate the chicken so the breasts now face you. Cut lengthwise between the breasts to the sternum. Run the knife down to the top of the sternum and use pressure to cut through the wishbone with the tip of the knife. Run the tip of the knife from the bottom of where the breasts meet to the wishbone area over and over, staying parallel to the sternum.
Each knife stroke should cut deeper and release the breast from the body further. Locate where the wing joint meets the back and cut down to the cutting board to remove the breast/wing section from the carcass. Repeat the same steps for the second breast.
To finish carving the chicken, take the legs back to the center of the cutting board. Hold the leg vertically by the ankle with the thigh touching the cutting board. Cut down through the thigh and drumstick joint to separate the pieces. Reserve the carcass for chicken stock. Arrange the carved sections on a platter to serve or reserve for separate preparations.
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