How to Roast a Chicken:
Chicken preparation involves removing the bird from its packaging and cleaning out the cavity of the neck and giblets. They can either be thrown away or boiled and added to your chicken gravy. Pat the chicken dry all over with paper towels.
Cover with Herb Butter: In a small bowl, combine the butter, lemon zest, rosemary, salt, and pepper. To remove the skin from the top of the chicken breasts, use your fingers, and then spread some of the herb butter underneath. Season the outside of the chicken with salt and pepper. Microwave remaining herb butter to make it soft. Smear butter all over the outside of the chicken. Add any extra butter mixture inside the cavity. Lemons should be cut in half and placed inside the chicken’s cavity.
Place chopped vegetables in the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish to add. Sprinkle the vegetables with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.
Put the chicken on top of the vegetables and sprinkle it with salt and pepper to roast it. For 10-15 minutes, roast chicken in an uncovered oven set to 450°F. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and cook for an additional 20 minutes per pound, or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Juices should be sizzling and clear, and the skin should be golden brown.
When the chicken is finished cooking, take it out of the oven and cover it loosely with a sheet of aluminum foil to let it rest. Before carving, let it rest for about 10 minutes to allow the juices to settle. The meat will lose its juice and become more tough and chewy if you cut it right away.
Serve this whole roasted chicken and vegetables with my homemade rolls, carving the chicken to serve with the roasted vegetables and reserving the pan drippings to make chicken gravy.
