Ina Garten Roast Chicken (Perfect every time)
A Perfect Roast Chicken recipe is quite simply the most beautifully cooked, foolproof roast chicken — and the only recipe you’ll ever need for what many consider the ultimate comfort food. Cooking by temperature, not time, ensures juicy white meat, tender, flavorful dark meat, and crisp golden skin every single time.
Servings: 4 people
Cost: $20
Equipment
- Probe thermometer (recommended: Thermoworks Square Dot with 2 probes)
- Shallow baking dish (tall sides prevent thighs from cooking and browning)
Ingredients
- 1 5 to 6 pound roasting chicken
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large bunch fresh thyme plus 20 sprigs
- 1 lemon halved
- 1 head garlic cut in half crosswise
- 2 tablespoons 1/4 stick butter, melted
- 1 large yellow onion thickly sliced
- 4 carrots cut into 2-inch chunks (sliced on a diagonal)
- 1 bulb of fennel tops removed, and cut into wedges
- Olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425° F.
- Remove the chicken giblets. Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry.
- Either chill the breasts with ice packs for 30 minutes or make a foil shield for the breasts to slow the cooking of the white meat. (See note in article above)
- Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic.
- Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper.
- If available, insert a probe thermometer into the deepest part of the breast and another into the thigh of the chicken. Set the breast probe to 160°F and the thigh probe to 185°F. If using a shaped foil shield to slow the breast cooking, cover the breasts now and leave on for the first 25-30 minutes of cooking and then remove. The temperatures should now catch up to each other's finishing times.
- Place the onions, carrots, and fennel in a roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and about 2 tbsp of olive oil. Spread around the bottom of a shallow roasting pan and place the chicken on top.
- Remove the chicken from the oven and let rest for a minimum of 20 minutes and up to 40 minutes. (it will stay hot and keep cooking)
- Slice and serve with the vegetables and drippings
Notes
A good probe thermometer guarantees perfect results better than timing and guessing doneness. I recommend the Thermoworks Square Dot for any roast that requires temping two zones such as dark meat and white meat. It monitors two probes at one time so only one device is needed. (Be sure to oder and extra probe because it only comes with one internal probe!)
