Roasted Chicken for a Weeknight Skillet

For Roasted Chicken for a Weeknight Skillet, the counter starts with lb roasting chicken, lemon, and salt & pepper to taste. Portion it for 6 people.

Count on 15 minutes of prep, 1 hour of cooking, about 1 hour from the first measurement to the plate.

Ingredients Method

What goes in the bowl

• 1 4 lb roasting chicken
• ½ lemon
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 small onion
• ½ teaspoon thyme or sever sprigs of thyme
• 1 sprig tarragon
• 4 tablespoons butter softened (No love will be lost if you use olive oil here)

How the cooking goes

1. Warm the oven to 350°. Clean the inside of the chicken and rub with lemon juice, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add onion and herbs to the cavity. Truss chicken and place in roasting pan. A quick search will show you that trussing the chicken simply means tying the legs together on top of the bird. This step is by no means necessary but it does add to the elegance of the finished presentation.
2. Rub softened butter over the skin and sprinkle with salt and pepper to finish.
3. Oven-bake 20 minutes per pound or until a meat-thermometer reads 180° when inserted into the fleshiest part of the thigh (not touching bone). Mrs. Fillmore says that the chicken is done when the leg moves up and down easily.
4. Allow the chicken rest 10 minutes to allow the juices to redistribute.

After it comes off the heat

Cool the pot before it goes into the refrigerator. It reheats gently on the stove the next day.

If you want another plate from Chicken, open Chicken with Shallots for a Weeknight Skillet and Chicken Vegetable Soup Simmered for the Bowl.