Roast Chicken
Region: International
Category: Fowl
Season: Any
Difficulty: Easy

A glistening golden roast chicken is beautiful to behold.  You would think that 

everyone knows how to roast a chicken, but so many times I'm asked how to get a perfectly roasted chicken. Well, this recipe will guide you to a perfect roast chicken, but remember that the good taste of a chicken is going to rest on its quality more than how you cook it. But if you have an organically raised free-range chicken you're going to have a delicious tasting chicken.  There are other methods that work for a perfect roast chicken, but I think you'll find mine the simplest approach.  The roast chicken in the photo is stuffed with spinach and served with roast potatoes.

[Photo: Clifford A. Wright]            

Yield: Makes 4 servings
Preparation Time: 1:15 hours

One 3 1/2-pound whole organic chicken

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter

1. Preheat the oven to 450° F.

2. Season the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper. Truss the chicken by tying the legs together with kitchen twine. Tie the wings down with a length of twine to go around the whole bird or skewer them to the body by running a 10-inch wooden skewer through the wings and body. Rub the chicken all over with 2 tablespoons butter and place on a rack in a roasting pan.

3. Roast the chicken for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350° F. Continue roasting, basting with the remaining butter until there is enough fat accumulated to spoon over the chicken, basting every 10 minutes. The chicken is done when the juice runs clear when poked in the thigh with a skewer and the skin is golden brown, 50 minutes. The chicken will have roasted for a total of 1 hour. Remove the chicken from the oven and let rest 10 minutes before serving.

Posted: 09/18/2007