How to Roast a Chicken Perfectly

When I first started cooking years ago the thought of roasting a chicken was intimidating to me. I researched many recipes and tried and failed many times until I came up with this fool proof recipe on how to perfectly roast a chicken.  

I often make this chicken on Sunday afternoons so that I can make several different meals for the week ahead.  Today we are having the chicken with brown butter skillet corn from Barefoot in the Kitchen's blog (link below) and roasted potatoes.  I will trim off the leftover meat this evening and make homemade chicken broth with the carcass for chicken noodle soup later in the week and hopefully, I can also get a batch of chicken salad out of it as well.  The chicken is 6 pounds at 95 cents a pound so for under $6 I am making 3 meals! 

Roasted Chicken

• 1 roasting chicken (5-6 pounds) 
• Kosher salt 
• Freshly ground black pepper 
• 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• 1 lemon, quartered 
• 1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise 
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted 
• 1/2 yellow onion, cut in half again 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Brown Butter Skillet Corn

Remove the chicken giblets from the inside of the chicken. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of rosemary, quarters of lemon, and all the garlic and onion. 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.

Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken and place on a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes. Slice the chicken.  This chicken goes well with the Brown Butter Skillet corn(link below).  Enjoy!

Brown Butter Skillet Corn recipe:  

http://www.barefeetinthekitchen.com/2012/08/brown-butter-skillet-corn.html