Roast Chicken. This has always felt like the dish you need to be able to make to qualify as a home-chef. Well, maybe this and Apple Pie. When I tried making this, it was the first time I’d ever touched a raw ‘whole’ bird. Honestly, I had a hard time dealing with the texture of the raw skin, eww! But once you get over the part where you have to kind of pat it and stuff it and tie its legs (maybe that’s the entire process), the result is great! I suppose it’s like anything – you do this enough times and you just get immune to it..
Roast Chicken
Servings 1 whole chicken
Ingredients
For the roasted vegetables
- 3 jumbo carrots cut into 1-inch chunks
- 2 jumbo parsnips cut into 1-inch chunks
- 16 ounces peeled white pearl onions
- 1 bulb fennel tops removed and cut into wedges
- 15 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary leaves
- 2 cups chicken broth lower sodium, divided
For the chicken
- 4 ounce whole chicken organic
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 whole garlic cut in half crosswise
- 1 whole lemon halved
- 1 large bunch fresh thyme
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
Instructions
- Take the chicken out of the refrigerator and bring to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Prepare the vegetables
- Place the vegetables in a single layer on a roasting pan with a raised rack for the chicken.
- Pour 1 cup of chicken broth over the vegetables.
- Sprinkle the rosemary leaves and the 15 sprigs of fresh thyme.
Prepare the chicken
- Open the chicken packaging in a bowl in the sink and discard the giblets, if any. Rinse the chicken with cold water on the inside and outside and pat dry with a paper towel.
- Liberally sprinkle salt and pepper inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the garlic, lemon and thyme.
- Place the chicken on the rack set over the vegetables, breast side facing down. Brush the outside of the chicken with the melted butter and liberally sprinkle salt and pepper on the outside of the chicken. Turn the chicken over, breast side facing up. Brush the chicken with melted butter and liberally sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Tie the chicken legs together with kitchen twine and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken.
Roast the chicken and vegetables
- Put the roasting pan in the preheated oven at 425 degrees F for 20 minutes.
- Turn the temperature down to 350 F degrees without opening the oven door.
- Roast for 30 minutes. Pour the other cup of chicken broth over the vegetables if they are drying out. Turn the pan around and roast for another 15 minutes.
- Take the chicken out of the oven when an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the thigh (dark meat) registers 170-175 degrees F, and the breast (white meat) registers 160 degrees F. Guideline is 15 minutes per pound. After taking the chicken out of the oven at these temperatures, it will continue to rise about 5 degrees F.
- Let the chicken rest at least 20 minutes before carving. Do not tent your chicken with foil as it will cause the chicken to steam and become soggy.
Notes
Wine Pairing: Chardonnay