Time is ticking and one of the things on my list of 30 things to do before I’m 30 is to roast a chicken.  Check!

Lesson Learned:  People, we should not be afraid of roasting a chicken!!  It is super easy, so delicious and totally rewarding.  You will be totally impressed with yourself that you can do this!!

I’ve been inspired by Julia Child’s famous roasted chicken recipe and Jamie Oliver’s “naked chef” cooking techniques and this is what I’ve come up with:

Here is what you will need:

• A 5lb (give or take) chicken
• Lemon
• Fresh thyme & rosemary
• 1/2 stick of butter
• Salt & pepper
• Cooking string
• A 10 inch stainless steel sauté pan.  If you don’t have this, just use a baking dish that leaves about an inch of space between the chicken and the dish. (I would avoid non stick).

Here are the steps:

Clean the chicken: Remove whatever is in the inside cavity of the chicken.  (So technical right?!)  Rinse the chicken inside and out with hot water and pat dry with a paper towel.  Cut out the wishbone for easier carving.  (Here is a youtube video for prepping a chicken)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Reserve 1TB of butter and then melt the rest of the stick in the 10-inch sauté pan.

Salt and pepper the cavity of the chicken.  Cut the reserved butter in 4 pieces and put 2 of the pieces in the cavity of the chicken.  Take the lemon and pierce it all over with a fork. This is your moment to let out some aggression!  (Although don’t hurt your hand) Throw that lemon inside the chicken.  Add some springs of thyme & rosemary and the remaining butter pieces.

Truss the Chicken – which is the fancy way of saying tie up that chicken.  Here is a step by step guide.

Now place the chicken in the pan of melted butter (move off the heat). Baste the chicken with butter.  Generously season with salt & pepper and add thyme & rosemary leaves.

Now just throw it in the oven!  Cooking time is always tough depending on your oven.  I cooked mine  for an hour and 10 minutes.  Pull it out about halfway through and baste.

The chicken is done when your meat thermometer registers at 165 degrees.  When you pull out the thermometer, the juices should run clear.  Baste the chicken again.  Lift the chicken to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes.  This is so important because it allows the juices to evenly distribute through out the chicken.  Cut away the string and remove the lemon.

To carve begin by cutting right down the middle of the bird.  (Removing the wishbone allows you to do this easily).  Then cut out the breasts by running the knife on the outside of the bird.  Remove the legs and serve it up!!

It was so delicious that I forgot to take a pretty plated picture. Oh well…  I hope you all give it a try!!  Let me know how it goes or if you have any tips!