Whole Roasted Chicken

I'm There is just something about the smell of a whole chicken and vegetables roasting away in the oven that makes me think of fall.  Maybe it's the fact that I rarely roast a chicken in the summer because having the oven going when it's 105 degrees outside makes it feel like 100 degrees in my kitchen too. But, even though the days have been warm, there has been a chill to the air in the mornings and evenings and I couldn't resist the urge to roast a chicken this week.  

I served my chicken with some roasted butternut squash, carrots and fennel and we enjoyed every bit of it!

Ingredients:

1 Organic whole chicken (with giblets removed)

8 Sprigs of fresh thyme

2 Lemons and their zest

1/2 Stick of room temperature butter

Sea salt

Cracked black pepper

Garlic salt

2 Heaping tablespoons of Creme Fraiche

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Remove chicken from it's packaging and take out the "guts" from inside the cavity. Pat the chicken completely dry with paper towels and discard used towels, packaging and guts. 

While the oven preheats, zest your lemons and slice one in half.  Transfer your bird to a cast iron skillet, dutch oven or roasting pan. (You can just use a baking dish if you don't have one of these.) Salt and pepper the cavity and stuff with lemon and 1/2 of your thyme. Massage the outside of the bird with the room temperature butter.  Then season outside of chicken with salt, garlic powder and pepper.  Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh of the chicken.  When the oven comes to 425 inset chicken with legs pointing toward the back of the oven. 

Baste the chicken with the drippings every 20 minutes or so.  While the chicken is cooking add creme fraiche, lemon zest, juice of lemon 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp of pepper and thyme removed from stems to a bowl and stir until combined.  When the chicken reaches 150 degrees remove from oven and baste with creme fraiche mixture.  Place chicken back in oven and continue to cook until the thermometer reaches 165.  Remove and allow to rest for at least 20 minutes before serving.  

Best bird, guaranteed!