The Roast Chicken recipe from Ina Garten is the ideal one for whole, oven-roasted chicken and vegetables with plenty of gravy! This dinner will be adored by your family!
The prospect of sharing this recipe with you makes me incredibly happy. I genuinely have all the solutions for you right here if you have trouble making roast chicken. Stop struggling and discover just how simple it is!
Let's get started. This is what you need.
Do not Rinse!
- Instead, use paper towels to pat the chicken dry.
- The risk of spreading bacteria and germs to your sink, counters, and dish towels while rinsing a whole chicken in the sink is high.
- Every time you handle the chicken, make sure to thoroughly wash your hands.
Stuffing a chicken
- Ina Garden stuffs her roast chicken with two lemon halves, a head of garlic cut crosswise, and a bunch of thyme. Two lemon halves, a head of garlic that has been cut in half, and a lot of thyme are all stuffed inside Ina Garden's roast chicken.
- Lemon and rosemary are good choices as well. Additionally, lemon and rosemary are wise choices.
Trussing the chicken
- Tying the chicken legs with kitchen twine (or “trussing”), is totally Some people are actually opposed to it because it can stop extra air from circulating around the breast (I do it typically just to hold the legs in place). (I usually do it just to keep the legs in place.)
- Tuck the tip of the wing underneath the body to prevent it from cooking too quickly/burning. Tuck the tip of the wing under the body to prevent it from burning or cooking too quickly.
Give the chicken some time to warm up.
If time allows, let the chicken sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. This is important for even cooking. Placing the cold chicken on the roasting pan can dry out the outside before the inside has a chance to finish cooking.
Position the Chicken on Top of the Vegetables in the Roasting Pan
- This allows for more even cooking as the bottom of the chicken won’t be sitting in its’ own juices as it cooks. Because the bottom of the chicken won't be cooking in its own juices, the cooking will be more evenly distributed.
- The vegetables also add additional flavor to the chicken drippings, which we’ll be using to make gravy. The vegetables also give the chicken drippings, which we'll use to make gravy, more flavor.
Don’t Use a Turkey Roasting Pan
- Use a roasting pan that fits the size of the chicken. Use Otherwise, the pan's surface area will be too large, allowing the moisture to evaporate quickly and leaving you with dry vegetables and little to no drippings. leaving you with little to no drippings and dry vegetables.
What Temperature to Roast a Chicken
- 425° is a great temperature for roasting chicken, and that is what this temperature enables the chicken to roast perfectly even without the need to adjust the heat. It was not necessary to adjust the heat at any point for the chicken to roast perfectly and evenly. roast perfectly evenly without needing to adjust the heat at any point.
- I like to baste the chicken halfway through (spoon the juices onto the top of the skin) and rotate the pan 180° when I put it back in the oven. I like to rotate the pan 180 degrees and baste the chicken halfway through cooking it by spooning the juices onto the top of the skin. When I put the chicken back in the oven, I like to rotate the pan 180° and baste it halfway through (spoon the juices onto the top of the skin).
Chicken Roasting Time
- An easy rule of thumb for roasting time is about 15 minutes per pound.
- This chicken weighed just under 6 pounds, and it roasted perfectly at 425° for exactly one and a half hours.
How to Know When it’s Done
- Press a thigh into the body of the chicken to extract some juice. Juice ought to be crystal clear. chicken, press a thigh into the meat. The juice should run clear.
- Place a meat thermometer into the thigh or thickest part of the breast. The temperature inside should be 165°. rt. of the breast or the thigh. The internal temperature should read 165°.
Let it Rest (without foil)
- Let the chicken rest, *uncovered* for a full 15-20 minutes prior to cutting into it. Otherwise, the juices will spill everywhere rather than returning to the chicken. Ice will run all over the place instead of getting reabsorbed back into the chicken. We’re going for juicy chicken, not dry chicken!
- Some recipes advise that you cover the chicken with foil as it rests, but that causes moisture to build up in the foil and will make your crispy skin wet. We do not desire dripping skin. in the chicken with foil while it rests, but doing so will lead to moisture buildup in the foil and result in soggy, crispy skin. We don’t want soggy skin.
The Chicken Drippings
I had 1 and a third cups of chicken drippings from this nearly six-pound chicken, which I used to make gravy.
How to Make Chicken Gravy
- Pour the chicken drippings into a large measuring cup. The chicken drippings should be poured into a big measuring cup.
- Top off the chicken juices with chicken broth to make 2 cups. Add enough chicken broth to the remaining chicken juices to equal 2 cups.
- Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Three tablespoons of butter should be melted in a pan on medium heat.
- Add 3 tablespoons of flour. Add three tablespoons of flour. Whisk for 1 minute.
- Add half of the gravy juice/broth. Add half of the broth or gravy. Whisk until there are no lumps.
- Add the remaining liquid. Whisk for 2 minutes. The gravy will continue to thicken more and more.
- Season with salt/pepper if desired. Done!
Need More Browning?
- If your chicken needs a touch more color, increase the heat to 500° and use foil to cover up any parts that are already sufficiently brown. If your chicken needs a little more color, turn the heat up to 500 degrees and cover any areas that are already nicely browned with foil. ed. Increase the heat to 500 degrees if your chicken needs a little more color, and use foil to cover any areas that are already well-browned.
- Roast for an additional 5 minutes or so. Add about 5 more minutes to the roasting process. Keep a close eye on it.
Note: This step wasn’t necessary when I prepared this chicken, however, I did rotate the pan 180° halfway through for even color. Note: I skipped this step when cooking the chicken, but I did turn the pan 180 degrees halfway through to ensure uniform color.
Pro Tips
- Use a roasting pan that fits the size of your chicken for the best results. You run the risk of burning the vegetables and wasting liquid for the gravy if you use a large roasting pan.
- Use plenty of thickly cut vegetables (whole carrots, quartered onions, etc.). (They will cook too quickly if there are too few or if they are cut too thin.). If there are too few or if they’re cut too thin, they’ll cook too quickly.
- Gauge how your vegetables look at the halfway mark when you rotate the roasting pan. Cover them with a layer of foil if they're cooking too quickly, but leave the chicken exposed. cooking too quickly, cover them with a layer of foil (but leave the chicken exposed).
What to Serve with Roasted Chicken
- Mashed Potatoes
- Easy Buttermilk Biscuits
- Roasted Carrots
- Stuffing Casserole
- The Pioneer Woman’s Twice-Baked Potato Casserole
Ina Garten's Roast Chicken
Ingredients
- 5-6 lb. whole chicken
- Salt/Pepper
- 1 large bunch thyme, plus 20 sprigs
- 1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise
- 1 lemon, halved
- 2 Tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 large yellow onion, sliced into large chunks
- 4 whole carrots, sliced into 4-inch chunks
- 1 bulb of fennel, tops removed, cut into wedges
- 2-3 Tablespoons Olive oil
For the Gravy:
- ⅔ cup Chicken Broth
- 3 Tablespoons Butter
- 3 Tablespoons Flour
Instructions
Roasting the Chicken
- Unwrap the chicken and remove the giblets and/or the neck (if included). Pat the chicken dry with paper towels.
- If possible, let the chicken sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to allow for more even cooking.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Seasoning the entire chicken generously with salt and pepper.
- Stuff the chicken with the thyme, garlic, and lemon.
- Brush the outside of the chicken with the 2 TBS melted butter and season again with salt/pepper.
- Use kitchen twine to tie the legs together. Tuck the wings underneath the body of the chicken.
- Place the sliced onions, carrots, and fennel bulb on the bottom of a roasting pan.
- Sprinkle the vegetables with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and drizzle generously with olive oil. Use your hands to toss to evenly coat the vegetables.
- Place the chicken on top of the vegetables. This prevents the chicken from sitting in its own juice while it cooks and elevates the chicken for even cooking.
- Roast (uncovered), for 1 ½ hours. Halfway through, use a spoon to drizzle the chicken with some drippings from the bottom of the pan. Rotate the pan 180 degrees and place it back in the oven.
- The chicken is done when the juices run clear and the internal temperature reads 165 degrees. (Place a meat thermometer into the thigh to check the temperature.)
- Let the chicken rest, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes to allow the juices to reabsorb before you cut into it!
- Slice the chicken on a platter and serve with the roasted vegetables.
Making the Gravy
- Pour the chicken drippings into a large measuring cup.
- Top it off with chicken broth to make 2 cups.
- Melt 3 Tablespoons of butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
- Add 3 Tablespoons flour. Whisk for 1 minute.
- Add half of the gravy juice/broth. Whisk until there are no lumps.
- Add remaining liquid. Whisk for 2 minutes. The gravy will continue to thicken more and more.
- Season with salt/pepper if desired. Done!
- Note: If your chicken needs a touch more color, increase the heat to 500° and use foil to cover up any parts that are already sufficiently browned. Roast for an additional 5 minutes or so. Keep a close eye on it.
Notes
Pro Tips:
- Use a roasting pan that fits the size of your chicken for best results. Using a roasting pan that's too large runs you the risk of burning the vegetables and losing your liquid for the gravy.
- Use plenty of thick cut vegetables (Large carrots, quartered onions, etc.). If there are too few or if they're cut too thin, they'll cook too quickly.
- Gauge how your vegetables look at the halfway mark when you rotate the roasting pan. If they're cooking too quickly, cover them with a layer of foil (but leave the chicken exposed).
Need more Browning?
- If your chicken needs a touch more color, increase the heat to 500° and use foil to cover up any parts that are already sufficiently browned.
- Roast for an additional 5 minutes or so. Keep a close eye on it.
Save Your Leftovers!
- Save your leftovers to make easy homemade chicken stock!
- You can even freeze your leftovers to make stock another day.
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