Name: Perfect Roast Chicken
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 (5 to 6 pound) roasting chicken; 1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise; 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted; 4 carrots cut into 2-inch chunks; 1 bulb of fennel, tops removed, and cut into wedges; Olive oil; 1 large bunch fresh thyme, plus 20 sprigs; 1 large yellow onion, thickly sliced; 1 lemon, halved; Kosher salt; Freshly ground black pepper

👨‍🍳 Instructions

✨ Meez Magic · 3 steps → 14 actions

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Immersive step-by-step Cook Mode with timers.

✨ Start Cook Mode

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove the chicken giblets.

Rinse the chicken inside and out.

Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry.

Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken.

Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic.

Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper.

Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken.

Place the onions, carrots, and fennel in a roasting pan.

Toss the vegetables with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil.

Spread the vegetables around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.

Roast the chicken until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh.

Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil.

Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables.

🎉

You're all done!

Enjoy your perfect roast chicken — and don't forget to share.

From Cook Mode

Tips as you cook

Gather IngredientsMise en place makes cooking easier
Preheat OvenLet oven fully preheat first
Remove GibletsCheck both cavities for giblets
Rinse ChickenUse cold water for rinsing
Dry ChickenDry skin crisps better
Season CavitySeason generously inside too
Stuff CavityAromatics infuse flavor while roasting
Butter & SeasonButter helps skin brown

Swaps, storing and making ahead

Good to know

Swaps

No fennel bulb? Use an extra onion or some celery stalks cut into chunks instead.
No fresh thyme sprigs? Use about a teaspoon of dried thyme sprinkled over the vegetables.