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PERFECT
ROAST CHICKEN
1
5-to 6-pound roasting chicken
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large bunch fresh thyme
1 lemon, halved
1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 Spanish onion, thickly sliced
1 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Preheat
the oven to 425°F.
Remove
the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside
and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover
pinfeathers and pat the outside dry. Place
the chicken in a large roasting pan. Liberally
salt and pepper the inside of the chicken.
Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme,
both halves of the lemon, and all the garlic.
Brush the outside of the chicken with the
butter and sprinkle again with salt and
pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen
string and tuck the wing tips under the
body of the chicken. Scatter the onion slices
around the chicken.
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Roast
the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices
run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh.
Remove to a platter and cover with aluminum foil
while you prepare the gravy.
Remove
all the fat from the bottom of the pan, reserving
2 tablespoons in a small cup. Add the chicken
stock to the pan and cook on high heat for about
5 minutes, until reduced, scraping the bottom
of the pan. Combine the 2 tablespoons of chicken
fat with the flour and add to the pan. Boil for
a few minutes to cook the flour. Strain the gravy
into a small saucepan and season it to taste.
Keep it warm over a very low flame while you carve
the chicken.
Slice
the chicken onto a platter and serve immediately
with the warm gravy.
Serves
3 to 4.
[The
Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, Ina Garten]
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