3.22.2012

Cooking with the Barefoot Contessa: Perfect Roast Chicken and A One Year Anniversary

It's hard for me to believe but today is the one-year mark of when I first started this blog.  I thought it would be fun to finally get my own domain name, so now you can find me at wanderingvoyager.com.  In celebration, I would like to offer one of my favorite recipes.  Until a few months ago, I had never roasted a whole chicken before.  Ina Garten's recipe for Perfect Roast Chicken is unfussy yet delicious.  Everyone should have a reliable recipe for roast chicken in their cooking repertoire!  Check out the recipe below.
Ina Garten's Perfect Roast Chicken


Ingredients

  • 1 (5 to 6 pound) roasting chicken
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 large bunch fresh thyme, plus 20 sprigs
  • 1 lemon, quartered
  • 1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise (don't worry about peeling it!)
  • 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted
  • 1 large yellow onion, thickly sliced
  • 4 carrots cut into 2-inch chunks
  • 1 bulb of fennel, tops removed, and cut into wedges
  • Olive oil
Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Pat outside dry with paper towel. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. (I had a little difficulty with that but luckily everything cooked evenly!)  Place the onions, carrots, and fennel in a roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.
Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. (If your oven is temperamental like mine, you can turn the chicken over for the last half hour of cooking time).  Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes.  Serve and enjoy!

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