I got this recipe off of eHowcom and it's delicious!
- Carbohydrate 28.1397843750027 g
- Cholesterol 195.377343759811 mg
- Fat 43.4953109412012 g
- Fiber 3.99775004804134 g
- Protein 46.1988453125388 g
- Saturated Fat 15.433536252344 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (417g)
- Sodium 252.385000026284 mg
- Sugar 24.1420343269614 g
- Trans Fat 3.6057596877591 g
- Calories 694 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Take the chicken out of it's trappings, remove giblets, rinse thoroughly, pat semi-dry, cover with a generous amount of salt, spread the butter over it (you can use your hand). Smear a little butter on the bottom of the baking pan and place in the center of the oven, breast-side up. Add a little rosemary (if you like). Cook for about 65 minutes, assuming it's an average-sized chicken. For anything over 3.5 pounds, add about 8-10 minutes per pound.
- Chop up the garlic, onion, potatoes and carrots. After the chicken has been in the oven about 20 minutes, take it out and add a cup of water to the pan. Mix up all the vegetables and scatter them around the chicken. Drizzle olive oil over the veggies.
Failing to dry the skin thoroughly before roasting is the single most common error that prevents poultry from browning properly. Excess surface moisture creates steam in a 400 degree oven, turning the skin rubbery rather than crisp. Patting the cavity and exterior completely dry with paper towels allows the butter and salt to adhere directly to the skin, establishing the foundation for an even, golden crust.
Managing Oven Space and Root Vegetables
Roasting root vegetables directly in the pan alongside the bird requires careful consideration of liquid levels and fat distribution. Adding cold water to a hot roasting pan after twenty minutes drops the ambient temperature temporarily, releasing steam that jump-starts the softening of dense carrots and potatoes. Drizzling olive oil over these vegetables ensures they brown in the rendered poultry fat rather than simply steaming into mush. Because space is restricted on standard residential racks, choose a heavy-gauge metal roasting pan measuring roughly twelve by fifteen inches to prevent overcrowding.
Judging Doneness Without a Probe Thermometer
Relying on physical cues instead of a digital probe requires checking the resistance of the leg joints and the clarity of the juices. Piercing the thickest part of the thigh should yield juices that run entirely clear with no trace of pink color. Wiggling the drumstick should reveal a joint that moves loosely within its socket, indicating the connective tissue has broken down sufficiently after roughly sixty-five minutes of total heat application for an average bird.
