Roasted Chicken: Five Ingredients in Five Steps

Roasted Chicken is simple, and delicious to make. There are many styles and varieties to use, but I'm going to show you the most basic form possible. I won't be using butchers twine to tie the legs and there will be no vegetables to roast along with the chicken. I'm going minimalist with just FIVE ingredients (let's group salt & pepper as one)and FIVE easy steps. 

 First you want to preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Make sure the racks in the oven are at an appropriate level to fit a roasting pan with a chicken. (It's best to take care of that before oven is at full temperature as the racks can get extremely hot) Start by rinsing the chicken off with cold water thoroughly and removing and discarding the giblets from the cavity. Giblets are sometimes in a small closed off pouch. However, sometimes you have to pull out the components by hand. These include the heart, gizzard, liver etc. This part can be a little frightening at first but once you've done it a couple times it's no big deal. Now let's go through the Five steps; using the Five ingredients:

A key component to crispy skin is making sure you dry off the chicken thoroughly. Blot the whole chicken with paper towels until there is no moisture. This includes the inside of the cavity. It's important to know that water creates steam in the oven, making it difficult to achieve crispy skin. 

Step two is all about the essence and the flavor your chicken will take on. Salt and pepper the inside of the bird liberally (don't be afraid to go crazy) A tip for making this work if there is no offered hand is to rest the chicken against a tall glass (or two) so it's standing vertical. Next, stuff the cavity with the bunch of fresh sage and the onion cut in half (skin off) 

Note: There are a variety of ingredients and herbs you can use for roasted chicken. Such as: 

• Rosemary
• Thyme 
• Lemon
• Orange
• Garlic 
• Chervil 

Use these ingredients to stuff the cavity either alone, or in different combinations to your liking; such as lemon with rosemary and thyme. Part of cooking something new is to learn how to experiment with different flavors and styles. Roasted chicken is perfect for flavor experimentation because no matter what you can't go wrong, it always comes out delicious!

Now you want to melt the butter and brush it all over the outside of the chicken, make sure to get every part covered including the drums and the wings, the front and the back.  Next, liberally salt and pepper the whole chicken.

Place the chicken, breast side up,(see picture above) on a roasting rack in a roasting pan and then put it in the oven for about 1 hour and 25 mins or until juices run clear and the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit. If the  skin starts getting too crispy for your liking, place tinfoil over it. 

If your feeling fancy and want to spice up you're roasted chicken with one additional step; incorporate some Herbs de Provence in your butter.

A personal favorite of mine, that's a bit similar to Herbs de Provence is the Parisian herbs from Penzeys Spice Shop in Arlington. This mixture includes chives, dill weed, basil, French tarragon, chervil and white pepper. Sprinkle about a tablespoon into melted butter before brushing on the chicken. 

Voila! 🌿🍋✌🏼️