Easy Roast Chicken With Herbs
A roast chicken dinner guaranteed to emerge from the oven as a simple, juicy masterpiece.
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 1 5 lb. whole roasting chicken, preferably air chilled, giblets and neck removed
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 rounded tablespoon Kosher salt
- 12 turns freshly-ground pepper (about 1 teaspoon)
- 1 tablespoon herbes de Provence
- 1/2 bunch fresh, flat-leaf parsley, bottom half of the stems removed
Instructions
- Remove any giblets and the neck from inside the chicken, if included, and pat the chicken nice and dry with a few paper towels, inside and out.
- Place the chicken in a greased or parchment-lined casserole pan, and drizzle with olive oil. Spread the olive oil over the entire chicken using your fingers or pastry brush.
- Generously sprinkle the salt over the entire chicken, top and bottom -- especially the breast and legs. Nestle the chicken breast-side up in the casserole. Add the pepper and herbes de Provence, and stuff the cavity with the parsley so that the leaves poke out. NOTE: This may seem like an egregious amount of salt. It is not. By brining over eight to 48 hours time, the salt will soak into and distribute throughout the entire bird, and not just stay on the surface. Put the entire casserole into the refrigerator, uncovered, and let brine for a minimum of eight hours, preferably between 24 and 48 hours. (Make sure the chicken doesn't come into contact with any other food.)
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. You have the option here to put the chicken directly on a bed of root vegetables, such as thick-sliced onions, carrots, potatoes, and so on. They will cook along with the chicken perfectly.When the oven is fully heated, roast the chicken, uncovered, on the center rack for approximately 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours, or until a thermometer inserted into the dense meat on the side of the breast next to the thigh tests 162°F and the juices are clear.PRO TIP: Poultry should be cooked to 165°F. I remove the chicken at 162°; the temperature will continue to rise a few degrees even once the chicken is removed from the oven because of carryover cooking. Cook's Illustrated has a great article on carryover cooking.
- Remove from the oven, loosely tent with foil, and let rest for 10 minutes so the juices settle into the meat. Spoon some of the pan juices over the chicken. Serve immediately, adding more pan juices as desired.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information is provided for courtesy purposes only, and is an estimate not verified by medical or nutrition experts. Read the full nutrition disclaimer.
