Simple Oven Roasted Chicken

I'll be honest; I've never made a whole roasted chicken before trying this recipe. I was a little intimidated by idea of a whole bird in my oven, different parts of the chicken needing to reach the fully-cooked stage all while retaining juiciness and, of course, tasting delicious.

This Thanksgiving I was in charge of the turkey, and while I still have a long (and I mean LONG) road of perfecting the turkey, I guess it boosted my zeal to finally throw a whole chicken in my oven and see what comes out. What came out was delicious and I couldn't believe I'd waited this long. You can season it however you'd like. You can stuff it however you'd like. Point being, this is only the beginning for my whole-roasted-chicken diaries. There are so many ideas I now want to try, you will definitely see more of these birds on my blog. Anyway, give this a try. Enjoy, friends!

Simple Oven Roasted Chicken

6-8 Servings

Ingredients:

1 (5 to 6 pound) chicken

Salt and Pepper, to taste (I used about 3/4 tablespoons of each)

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 large onion, cut into wedges

6 tablespoons butter, softened

* Will need roasting pan with

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a small bowl, mix salt, pepper and onion powder. Set aside.

2. Remove giblets from chicken, then pat dry the skin. Sprinkle the cavity with a little of the salt and pepper mixture, then put 2 tablespoons of the butter and all the onion wedges into the cavity. Place chicken in a roasting pan, then rub the skin with the remaining butter. Sprinkle skin with remaining salt, pepper and onion powder mixture.

3. Bake uncovered for 1 to 1.5 hours, until juices run clear and internal temperature has reached 180 degrees F when measured with meat thermometer. Remove from oven and baste with pan drippings. Cover the chicken and let it rest for 30 minutes before serving.

#chicken #maindish