Easiest Roasted Chicken with Lemon and Herbs

Serves 4

For all ingredients, please consider using those that are organic.

whole chicken (organic, hormone and antibiotic free)

Have your butcher clean the innards from the chicken before you bring it home to save time and mess.

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

I try to do all of the preparation for the chicken in the dutch oven including the removal of the innards.  Raw chicken is such a messy bit of business to deal with, and this recipe is all about making life easier.  If your chicken has already had all of the innards removed and cleaned out by your butcher, all the better.

I like to use a 7 quart oval Le Creuset pot.  If you do not own this kitchen workhorse, use a stockpot of a similar size.

Put the chicken into the pot.  Generously douse the chicken inside the cavity and out with olive oil.  Again, using generous proportions, sprinkle the salt and pepper inside and out.  Rub the ingredients into the bird so it is well seasoned.  Bend the wings back and tuck them under the bird.

Sliced the blossom end of the garlic bulb off to separate the cloves.  Do not peel the cloves, but do remove the extra white papery pieces from the skin. 

Stuff the cavity of the seasoned bird with the garlic cloves, prepared lemons, and fresh herbs.  Whatever does not fit in the chicken, toss into the pot.  Give another liberal sprinkling of salt and pepper and put the pot into the preheated oven.   

It should cook for 1-1 1/2 hours depending on the size of the chicken.  Use a meat thermometer to sporadically check the temperature of the meat.  When the temperature of the meat is between 170-180 F, remove it from the oven.

Allow it to rest for 10-20 minutes before carving.  Use this time to prepare a sauce with the drippings or finish off the garlic.

If you are feeling ambitious, pour the cooking juices into a measuring cup and put it in the freezer to encourage the separation of the fat.  Remove as much of the fat from the top of the juices as you are able, and heat the cooking juices for a few minutes.  It will not take much more than this to make a nice sauce for serving.  If you want to take an extra few minutes, strain the juices and add the juice of half a lemon before heating them, and stir in a tablespoon of unsalted butter to finish it off.

If you are a lover of garlic, remove the cloves from the cavity of the cooked chicken and spread onto a piece of aluminum foil.  Put them into the oven and roast for 10-20 minutes while preparing the sauce and carving the chicken.