Whole Roasted Go-To Chicken

Name: Whole Roasted Go-To Chicken
Yield: Makes 6 serving
Ingredients: 3/4 garlic head, peeled; 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil; 3 fresh thyme sprigs, stems discarded; 1 tablespoon butter, softened; 3/4 teaspoon sea salt; 1 (5-6 pounds) roasting chicken; 1 teaspoon sea salt; 1/2 lemon, thinly sliced into wheels; 3 fresh thyme sprigs; 2 fresh rosemary sprigs; 1 garlic head, unpeeled, halved and broken into cloves

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If you master only two recipes in this book, it should be my Kale and Fennel Caesar on page 99 and this one. Dressed to kill with a garlic rub, stuffed with fresh aromatic herbs, this recipe is a knockout. Now you just need to worry about what to wear!

Yield: Makes 6 serving

Yield: Makes 6 serving

Ingredients

Garlic Butter:

3/4 garlic head, peeled

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 fresh thyme sprigs, stems discarded

1 tablespoon butter, softened

3/4 teaspoon sea salt

Chicken:

1 (5-6 pounds) roasting chicken

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 lemon, thinly sliced into wheels

3 fresh thyme sprigs

2 fresh rosemary sprigs

1 garlic head, unpeeled, halved and broken into cloves

Directions

To make garlic butter: In a food processor, combine all ingredients. Blend until a perfectly smooth paste forms.
To make chicken: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. With clean hands, wash the chicken, remove the giblets, and pat the chicken completely dry with paper towels. Lightly grease the bottom of a sturdy roasting pan. Salt the inside of the chicken with 1 teaspoon sea salt and stuff with the lemon wheels, thyme, rosemary, and garlic. Using butcher's twine, truss the chicken (breast side up), making sure to tuck in the wings and legs tightly. Place the chicken in the roasting pan and generously baste it with the garlic butter. Cover the chicken loosely with aluminum foil and roast for approximately 2 hours. (Cook whole roasting chickens, fully thawed, 20 to 25 minutes per pound.) Remove the foil for the last 30 minutes of roasting time. Make sure the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F, the juices run clear, and the flesh is firm to the touch.