Description: A French way to cook a whole chicken
Serves: 2 to 4 (depending upon the size of the chicken)
Time: 2 hours
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken
Fine sea salt
Fresh ground black pepper
2 lemons, quartered lengthwise
small bunch of thyme
butter
Preparation:
Heat oven to 425 desgrres
Season cavity with salt and pepper
Place lemons and thyme in the cavity. Truss closed.
Rub the skin with butter. Season all over with salt and pepper
Place chicken on its side on a roasting rack in a roasting pan. Cook for 20 minutes
Turn chicken to its other side and cook for another 20 minutes
Turn chicken breast side up and continue roasting for 20 more minutes.
Reduce heat to 375 degrees.
Turn the chicken breast side down at an angle with its tail in the air (this allows the juices to flow down into the breast meat.
Roast until juices run clear about 15 minutes
Remove from oven and season generously with salt and pepper
Turn off oven
Transfer to a platter breast side down and tail in the air.
Cover loosely with foil
Place in the oven with the door opened. Let rest from 10 to 30 minutes
Remove the lemons from the cavity.
Carve the chicken.
Squeeze the lemons all over the cut poultry, extracting as much juice as possible.