Perfect Roast Chicken (courtesy of Ina Garten)
Ingredients
- 1 (5-6 lb.) roasting chicken
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large bunch of thyme
- 1 lemon halved
- 1 head garlic cut in half crosswise
- 2 tblsp. butter melted
- 1 large yellow onion thickly sliced
- 4 carrots cut into 2-inch chunks
- 1 bulb fennel, tops removed, cut into wedges
- 1 lb. small potatoes washed and halved
- Olive oil
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 425°.
- Remove giblets from chicken, rinse the chicken inside and out. Pat the outside of the bird dry.
- Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken.
- Stuff the cavity with a bunch of thyme, both halves of the lemon and all the garlic.
- Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken.
- Place the onions, carrots, fennel and potatoes in a roasting pan.
- Toss with salt, pepper, springs of thyme and olive oil. Spread around bottom of the pan and place chicken on top.
- Roast for 1 ½ hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between leg and thigh. Internal temperature should be 165°.
- Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and let rest for 20 minutes.
- Slice the chicken and serve. *Ina recommends covering with aluminum foil while resting, but I find it takes away from the crispness of the chicken skin.