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Roast Chicken

About this recipe

Who loves roast chicken? We do! It goes great with mixed green salad and some form of roast potatoes. Having a party? Roast 7 or 8 chickens ahead of time and get drunk with the guests (things will be fine).

Instructions

Go out and buy yourself a nice:

4 lb. roasting chicken.

Wash it well and pat dry with paper towel. Rub with olive oil, and season inside and out with salt and pepper (making sure to get under the wings).

Make 2 slits in the chicken’s breast and 2 slits at the top of its legs. Then cut up:

2 garlic cloves (into 5 large pieces total).

Salt and pepper each slit and shove in a piece of garlic. Throw the last chunk into the cavity.

Into a bowl, make a rub with:

olive oil,
salt,
black pepper,
chopped fresh rosemary (or sage),
grated rind from one fresh lemon.

Rub this mixture all over the chicken until it starts to giggle. Put your leftover lemon (or whatever will fit) inside the cavity and place chicken into a roasting pan, lying on its back, on a rack (Jack!).

Add a cup of water to the pan and roast at 350-375°F. Cook covered (with lid or aluminum foil) for the first ½ hour. Then uncover and cook another 1½ hours until ready (internal temperature is 180°F).

Baste frequently.

Notes

Wrap in foil and let stand a few minutes before carving.
You can actually leave it in foil for more than an hour—great if having guests.
You can put white wine in the bottom of the pan if not using lemon (since they don’t mix).
For a tastier, more fattening version: rub the chicken inside and out with butter before applying the oil mixture.
Remember, high rake in a shallow pan (most times a cookie sheet is just fine) and make sure you pat dry, otherwise the skin won’t brown.
If you want roast potatoes, add them with 1 hour of cooking time left, or take the chicken out and let it stand while the potatoes cook. Mix potatoes with salt, pepper, garlic salt, and rosemary before adding to the roasting pan.