Perfect Roasted Chicken

Recipe courtesy of Heartland Trails

While roasting a whole chicken is time consuming, this meal yields a substantial reward. A roasted chicken offers many possibilities for days to come and offers a lot of bang for your buck. Generally, you can find a good sized roaster for about $1.20 per pound, whereas, you will pay upwards of $2.50 per pound for chicken breast.

Ingredients:

1 (5 to 6 pound) roasting chicken

1 large bunch fresh thyme

1 lemon, halved

1 head garlic (cut in half crosswise, no need to peel)

1 large yellow onion (cut into quarters, no need to peel)

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted

1/2 cup dry white wine
kosher salt

fresh ground black pepper
herbs de provence
 (optional)


Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400° F. In a small sauce pan, melt the butter with the wine over low heat. Squeeze the juice from one of the lemon halves into the butter and wine, being careful not to get any seeds in the mixture.
2. Remove the chicken giblets, rinse the chicken inside and out and pat the outside dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the thyme, both halves of lemon, the garlic and onion quarters. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter mixture and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. At this time you may also sprinkle with the optional herbes de provence. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Place the chicken in a roasting pan on top of a roasting rack.
3. Roast the chicken for about 1 1/2 hours, basting the chicken with the butter mixture every 30 minutes. If the chicken is browning too fast, loosely cover it with aluminum foil. The chicken is done when an instant-read thermometer says 165° F when inserted into the thickest part of the thigh (the legs of the chicken should wiggle easily from the sockets too.) The chicken should rest outside the oven for 15 minutes before carving.