How to Make the Best Roasted Chicken

This is a very basic recipe for roasted chicken, but sometimes the best meals stem from simplicity. I like to make a roasted chicken about once a week. My kids love eating it cut up into bite size chunks when it’s fresh out of the oven, and my husband always gets first dibs on the legs! After I pick all of the meat off, I’ll boil the bones to make chicken stock and the extra chicken will either go into a pot of soup, or I’ll use it for some other meal.

Ingredients

1 4-5 pound chicken (Organic and pastured is best, look for a local farmer, or check it our here.)
1 stick butter (Pastured butter like Kerrygold is the best!)
1 teaspoon Real Salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon oregano powder
1 teaspoon basil powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder

Directions

Thaw the chicken. If the chicken is frozen, try to remember to put it in the fridge for a day or two until it thaws out. If you’re in a pinch, fill the sink up with warm water and let it soak for an hour. (Don’t try to cook the chicken frozen!)
Get the oven ready. Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
Prepare the chicken. Once the chicken is thawed, pull out the giblets (I throw them away), rinse with cold water, pat dry with a paper towel, and place in a roasting pan. (I like using a glass pan).
Season. Sprinkle the seasonings generously all over the chicken, especially inside the cavity. I actually never measure my seasonings, I just try to coat the chicken evenly.
Butter. Put the stick of butter inside the cavity of the chicken. (You could also rub some of the butter into the skin of the chicken. Just do it before you add the seasonings.) *Butter is not to be feared as we have so previously and erroneously thought. Read more here.)
Seasoned Whole Chicken Ready to be Cooked
Bake. Bake at 350˚F for 1½ hours.
Roasted Chicken
Let cool. Let cool for 15-20 minutes before cutting. (This gives the juices a chance to settle in.) If you notice that the juice is really pink or that the chicken is still pink, cook for another 20 minutes and check again. If you’re the type who likes to check the internal temperature, it should read 165˚F.
Cut into pieces. Peal the skin back and cut horizontal lines in the breast followed by vertical lines. (Save the skin for your bone broth!) Then cut down at an angle until you get big chunks of breast meat falling off the bone.
Pre-Cut Chicken Breast from a Roasted Chicken
Soak the meat in the juice. Let these chunks of meat soak in the juice of the chicken. Cut the rest of the meat off the bones as much as possible. (To remove the chicken legs, find where the two bones connect and gently saw through the cartilage.) Leave the legs and wings intact if it suits your fancy. (My chicken legs never make it past my husband; they’re his favorite part!) Let all of the meat soak in the juice, sprinkle with a fresh bit of salt, and serve!
Roasted Chicken Meat Cut and Ready to Serve
Save the scraps. Save the bones, skin, and all other remnants to make a healing chicken broth and/or use the chicken (and all of the juice of course) to make some delicious chicken soup!

Variations:

You can use any combination of the following variations. Try a few things out. See what you like and don’t like. Get creative and try something new!

Cut a lemon in half, gently squeeze both halves into the cavity of the chicken, and place both halves in there as well.
Peel some garlic cloves (about 4-6 nice sized ones) and place them in the cavity of the chicken.
Use rosemary, salt, and pepper only.
Chop up some big chunks of onion and place them around the chicken.
Cut up some potatoes (or leave them whole) and place them around the chicken.
Cut up some carrots and celery into big chunks and place them around the chicken.