How to Roast a Chicken

Tips for the Best Roast Chicken

Learning how to roast a chicken should be on every home cook's to do list. If you don't know how yet, just follow along.

What you'll need
1 whole chicken
2 tbs butter or extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and ground pepper
Kitchen twine

What to do
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Rinse and pat chicken dry. Tie the chicken legs together with the kitchen twine. If you want a neat bird for presentation, tuck the wings under the chicken. Place the chicken on a rack and in a roasting pan or on a rimmed baking sheet.

Liberally rub the chicken with the butter or oil and season with the salt and pepper. Roast the chicken for about 45 – 50 minutes in the oven or until an instant-read thermometer reaches 160 degrees. To read the temperature of the chicken insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh, but avoid the tip of the thermometer touching the bone.

Remove the chicken from the oven and let rest for a few minutes before serving. If not serving right away, let the chicken cool before covering and placing in the fridge, where it can be kept safely for up to 3 days.

That's it! I couldn't be easier.

You can jazz up this recipe by stuffing fresh herbs, such as sage leaves under the skin before roasting, making sure not to puncture the skin. Or you can fill the cavity with half a lemon, a cut onion and some herbs and garlic cloves to perfume the meat.