Simple Roast Chicken

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Dry the chicken inside and out and sprinkle both the inside and outside of the chicken with salt and melter butter and dried herbs if desired (we often use sage, rosemary, thyme, garlic and roasted peppercorns - take your pick). Place the chick breast up in a roasting pan and set it on a rack in the middle of the preheated oven. We often place a variety of root vegetables such as potatoes, parsnips, carrots, onions, etc at the bottom of the pan, which will pick up the chicken flavor and roast beautifully.

Allow the chicken to brown lightly for 15 minutes, turning it on the left side after 5 minutes, on the right side for the last 5 minutes and basting it after each turn.

Reduce oven to 350 degrees. Leave the chicken on its side and baste every 10 minutes. Halfway through the estimated roasting time, salt the chicken and turn it onto the other side. Continue basting. Fifteen minutes before the end of the estimated roasting time, salt again and turn the chicken breast side up. Continue basting.

Sudden sputtering noises, a swelling of the breast and puff of skin, the drumstick is tender and can be moved in the socket, and the juices, when the meat is pricked deeply with a fork, run clear yellow with no trace of a rosy color, are all indicators your chicken is done. When you lift the chicken, juices from the internal cavity should also run clear yellow. Temperature will be ~175-180 degrees.

A 4-pound chicken takes an hour and 15 minutes, while a 7-pound bird requires only 20-30 minutes more.

Deglazing Sauce

NOTE: If you add vegetables to your roasting chicken pan, there will be limited juices remaining after roasting. Dissolve the remaining juices in a little chicken stock to make the sauce.

  • 1/2 Tbsp. minced shallot or green onion
  • 1 cup brown chicken stock, canned chicken broth or beef bouillon
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 - 2 Tbsp. softened butter

Remove all but two tablespoons of fat from the pan. Stir in the minced shallot or onion and cook slowly for 1 minute. Add the stock and boil rapidly over high heat, scraping up coagulated roasting juices with a wooden spoon and letting liquid reduce to about 1/2 cup. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.

Just before serving, swirl in the enrichment butter by bits until it has been absorbed. Pour a spoonful of the sauce over the chicken, and send the rest to the table in a serving container.