# Perfect Roast Chicken

Recipe by foodnetwork.com · original: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/perfect-roast-chicken-recipe-1940592  
Cuisine: American · Dish: Meat & poultry mains  
On Meez: https://meezenplace.app/recipes/perfect-roast-chicken (with step-by-step Cook Mode)

For the perfect roast chicken dinner every time, try this popular recipe from Ina Garten, Food Network's Barefoot Contessa.

## Ingredients (serves 8)

- 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

## Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Remove the chicken giblets.
3. Rinse the chicken inside and out.
4. Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry.
5. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken.
6. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic.
7. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper.
8. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken.
9. Place the onions, carrots, and fennel in a roasting pan.
10. Toss the vegetables with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil.
11. Spread the vegetables around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.
12. Roast the chicken until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh.
13. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil.
14. Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables.

## 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.

### Storing it

Store leftover chicken and vegetables in an airtight container in the fridge for 3–4 days; reheat until steaming hot.

### Making it ahead

Chop the carrots, fennel and onion up to a day ahead and keep covered in the fridge until ready to roast.

## Nutrition (per serving, 1 of 8 servings, as published by foodnetwork.com)

- Calories: 615 calories
- Protein: 55g
- Carbohydrates: 13g
- Sugar: 4g
- Fiber: 4g
- Fat: 57g
- Saturated fat: 16g
- Cholesterol: 276mg
- Sodium: 1052mg