Roast Chicken with Herbs
Prep: 15 minutes Total: 1 hour 30 minutes
Ingredients placed in the cavity of the chicken flavor it from the inside out during roasting. Experiment with onion, other citrus fruit, and your favorite herbs.
INGREDIENTS
Serves 8.
2 whole chickens (3 1/2 to 4 pounds each), rinsed and patted dry inside and out, necks reserved (livers and giblets discarded)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 lemon, quartered
1 head garlic, halved horizontally, then vertically
1 bunch fresh thyme
1 bunch fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Season chicken cavities with salt and pepper. Dividing evenly, stuff with lemon, garlic, and sprigs of thyme and rosemary (reserve a few sprigs of each for garnish).
With a heavy knife, coarsely chop necks, and scatter in a large roasting pan. Place chickens, breast side up, on a rack set in pan. Using cotton kitchen twine, securely tie legs together; tuck wing tips underneath chickens.
Rub chickens with butter; season with salt. Roast, occasionally brushing chickens with pan juices, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of thigh (avoiding bone) registers 165, about 1 hour. Transfer chickens to a platter; cover loosely with aluminum foil, and let rest 10 to 15 minutes before carving.