Best Roast Chicken

Everyone in the food blogging world is posting all their best, most decadent Christmas recipes right now and what am I doing? Roasting a chicken. That’s right. I’m a rebel.

Actually, a beautifully roasted chicken is a very welcome break from all the heavy, rich foods that go along with the Christmas season. And knowing how to roast a chicken is something every cook should learn. Roast chicken is a great week night meal, or it can be served at an elegant dinner as well. The prep time is minimal, clean up is easy and most everyone (vegetarians excluded) likes roast chicken.

I could make this recipe half asleep. It’s so easy you don’t even need my usual step-by-step photos. You can put this in the oven when you get home from work, go do some errands around the house and come back later to a complete meal from one roasting pan. We often have a roast chicken for Sunday night supper.

I learned this easy chicken roasting method many years ago, but it’s so close to the recipe published by Ina Garten that I felt I should at least acknowledge hers. If you need a break from the super-rich foods everyone’s enjoying right now, just pop this roast chicken in the oven and enjoy!

3-4 lb. chicken

1 lemon, halved or quartered

1 head garlic, cut crosswise

1 bunch thyme (25-30 stems)

2 tblsp. butter

Salt

Pepper

Carrots

Potatoes

Onions

¼ cup chicken broth

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. 

Dry the chicken with paper towels before beginning. It helps the butter, salt and pepper stick to the surface of the skin. You could use olive oil if you want, but the butter gives the skin a richer color and helps it crisp up better than oil.

Start by lightly salting and peppering the inside of the chicken. Then place the lemon, garlic and about 2/3 of the thyme into the chicken. Spread the butter all over the surface of the skin (I just use my fingers) and then liberally salt and pepper the skin.

Prepare the vegetables by cutting the carrots and potatoes into bite-size chunks. Roughly cut the onions into large pieces. Place all the vegetables in the bottom of a roasting pan. Add the chicken broth and scatter the remaining thyme over. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables in the pan. The vegetables act like a roasting rack to keep the chicken off the surface of the pan. Pretty neat, huh?

Cook for 1 to 1 ½ hours or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Remove the chicken from the pan and cover with foil. Allow the chicken to rest at least 10 minutes before slicing. If desired, return the vegetables to the oven for an additional 10-15 minutes while the chicken rests.

Enjoy!

Download a printable copy of  Best Roast Chicken.

– Recipe adapted from Ina Garten?s Perfect Roast Chicken