Simple Roast Chicken

Categories: dinner, not tried, poultry

Ingredients

• 1 whole (3 to 4 lb) chicken
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp chopped fresh herbs or 1 tsp dried (thyme, rosemary, majorjam, oregano or sage)
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Trim excess fat from around the cavity and tuck the wings under the back. Don’t worry about trussing the legs but you can tie them if you have kitchen string

2. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Place the chicken, breast down, on a rack in a roasting pan (If you don’t have a roasting pan or a rack, you can use a heavy, oven-safe dish such as a pie plate).

3. Place the chicken in the oven. Mix the olive oil, herb, salt and pepper mixture in a small bowl.

4. Let the chicken roast about 20 minutes. Spoon some of the oil mixture over it, turn it breast-side up and spoon some of the oil over the top. Return to the oven for about 10 minutes.

5. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees and baste again. Roast about 30 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 160 to 165 degrees.

6. Before removing the chicken from the pan, tip the pan to let the juices from the cavity flow into the pan (if they are red, cook 5 minutes longer). Remove the chicken to a platter and let stand about 5 minutes.

7. Pour the juices into a clear measuring cup and pour or spoon off as much fat as you can. Reheat the juices and serve them with the chicken.

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