Ina's Roasted Chicken
1 whole chicken, gibblets removed
1 head of garlic, cut horizontally
1 lemon, halved
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 tbls. unsalted butter, melted
baby carrots
1 onion, rough chop
1 bulb of fennel, rough chop
large bundle of fresh thyme
olive oil
In a dutch oven or a roasting pan, layer in the vegetables, drizzle with olive oil and liberally salt and pepper. On top, arrange approximately 20 sprigs of fresh thyme.
Rinse the bird and stuff with the garlic and lemon halves. Pat it dry and season outside with salt and pepper. Use kitchen twine to tie the legs together if necessary (I didn't do this step and it was fine.) Place the chicken on top of the vegetables in the cookware breast side up. Drizzle the butter on top of the chicken. Use any leftover thyme to dress the inside or top of the chicken and more salt and pepper if needed.
Roast in the oven (uncovered) at 425 F for 90-110 minutes. Check the meat to be sure it is cooked all the way through. When it is done, juices will run clear. (You can see in the photo where I cut the leg.)
Notes: Although this takes a good while to cook in the oven, you really don't have to do anything to it while it's cooking. You could watch TV, take a shower, nap, whatever. It's low maintenance once it's cooking. It will also smell amazing in your kitchen. The chicken turned out beautifully and the vegetables were nice and tender. You could easily add or substitute more vegetables or even potatoes.
This was my first time roasting a whole chicken and I give it an A!! Try it! (Maybe I should just go ahead and buy a long button down shirt...)
