Perfect Roast Chicken

I have made this recipe a handful of times, and love it every time. It's great for making when you have guests, because it's seems impressive, but it's actually pretty easy. It's also great for this time of year. At first, it was very intimidating to roast a whole chicken, but I eventually got used to man-handling the raw chicken. I actually don't mind raw meat too much. Some people can't stand touching it.

Perfect Roast Chicken
Recipe from Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients
1 (5 to 6 pound) roasting chicken
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large bunch fresh thyme, plus 20 sprigs
1 lemon, halved
1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise (I use 4-6 tsp already minced garlic)
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted
1 large yellow onion, thickly sliced
4 carrots cut into 2-inch chunks (can use more if you love carrots)
1 bulb of fennel (of decent size), tops removed, and cut into wedges
Olive oil

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 with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.

Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or 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 for about 20 minutes. Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables

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There's also a video of her making it on YouTube: