- Did you realize it was this easy to cook a whole chicken?
(upbeat music)
(grunts) Hey, everybody.
It's Natasha of NatashasKitchen.com
And today I'm going to teach you
how to make a roast chicken.
This is so much better
than a store-bought rotisserie chicken.
The flavor is mm, and so simple.
And it is so, so juicy.
And I'm hungry, so let's get started.
Actually. (laughs)
We'll start with a quick prep of your veggies.
And you can leave out the veggies,
but I love that they make it a meal.
Cut two large carrots into one inch pieces.
Then you'll need a six Yukon gold potatoes,
or you can use red potatoes.
Quarter those, or cut them into six pieces
if they're larger potatoes.
If you're using baby potatoes,
you can even leave them whole.
Next, peel and coarsely chop up one medium onion.
And I like to cut them into about one inch pieces.
The onions add really great flavor to the chicken
and the rest of the vegetables.
And I love how they caramelize in the roasting pan. (laughs)
Just cutting them up into sections like this is perfect.
If you cut them too small, they can burn in the pan.
Next we'll need one whole head of garlic.
You heard that right, a whole head.
And what we're going to do is just cut it parallel
to the base, cut it right in half.
That's so easy.
You don't even need to peel it.
Set aside half of the garlic to put inside of the chicken
and the other half we're going to toss with the veggies.
Place all of your prepped veggies into a large mixing bowl.
And remember, we're just adding half of the garlic head.
Then also add two sprigs of fresh rosemary.
Drizzle in about a tablespoon of olive oil.
Season that with 1/2 teaspoon of salt
and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper.
Give that a rough toss to coat, and set it aside.
I'm using a five 1/2 pound whole chicken,
which is perfect for roasting.
If your chicken was frozen, make sure to fully thaw
in the refrigerator before using it for this recipe.
When you're buying a chicken,
look for one with a pink colored meat,
and organic is usually a good indicator
of good quality chicken,
if you can find it in your grocery store,
Make sure to remove the gizzards that are inside.
Some people use those for gravy.
I just discard them.
Let me know if you use those for anything.
Those are usually tucked into the cavity of the chicken,
but sometimes they're up by the neck.
So you want to make sure there's nothing there.
Now thoroughly pat dry your chicken on the outside
and the inside with a couple of paper towels.
Now transfer your chicken to a roasting pan
with the breast side up.
For the best flavor we're going to season
this chicken inside and out.
Season inside the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon of salt
and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper.
Stuff the chicken with one lemon, which I've cut in half,
along with half of the head of garlic
and two sprigs of fresh rosemary.
Stuffing the center of the chicken
will infuse the entire chicken with great flavor.
Now melt two tablespoons of unsalted butter
and brush the chicken all over the top and sides
with the melted butter.
Working quickly, and while the butter is still somewhat wet,
sprinkle the chicken all over with two teaspoons of salt
and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper.
It's going to seem like a lot of salt,
but it is a large chicken and everyone loves
that crisp salty skin when it comes out of the oven.
Don't forget to turn the chicken over
and season the backside of the chicken.
This is where some of the juiciest dark meat is.
Season liberally because you want to get a good coating
of salt and pepper all over that chicken.
Now add your prepared vegetables to the pan
and just spread them evenly around the chicken.
Those veggies will roast and baste in the chicken juices,
making them incredibly flavorful.
To keep the wings from browning,
just like we would do on a turkey,
tuck the wings behind the chicken.
Now this next step is optional,
but does make for a beautiful presentation.
If you have some kitchen string, tie the legs together.
This is a quick and easy step to make the chicken
look a little bit fancier.
I love to put in an oven-safe thermometer
that tells me when the chicken is ready.
You want to insert that into the deepest part
of the chicken thigh, or you can also insert it
into the base of the chicken breast.
I will link to the thermometer we love in the notes.
I put my rack in the lower 1/3 of the oven
so the chicken roasts exactly in the center of the oven.
Roast that in a preheated oven at 425 degrees Fahrenheit,
and you're going to roast for about 80 to 90 minutes.
If you notice your chicken is starting to brown too much
on the chicken breast, here's a great tip
to keeping that chicken breast super juicy.
Create a foil shield by shaping
a piece of foil into a triangle.
Place that directly over the browned chicken breast
and continue roasting until the internal temperature
reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit at the chicken thigh
or until the juices run clear when you cut into the thigh.
Once chicken is out of the oven,
transfer it to a serving platter
and let it rest for 15 minutes.
Your kitchen is going to smell amazing at this point.
And it's going to be tempting to dig into that chicken,
but you do want to let it rest.
You can either use a special tool to lift up your chicken,
or it's small enough where I can easily
use two firm spatulas.
I love to arrange the roasted veggies
just right on the same platter around the chicken.
It makes for a really beautiful presentation.
You can tent with foil as it rests for 15 minutes,
but keep in mind if you love a crispy skin,
you can skip the foil because it will trap
some steam, causing the skin to soften.
Woohoo, my kitchen smells amazing right now.
That fresh rosemary,
and remember we put lemon inside the chicken.
It smells wonderful and it's making my mouth water.
We gotta get into this taste test.
All right, the chicken has been resting
for about 15 minutes.
And you want to make sure to let it rest otherwise,
just like steak, if you cut into it, it'll juice out.
So this way it becomes super juicy when you cut it.
Let the chicken rest. (laughs)
I can't wait any longer though.
All right, we're going to dig right into this.
And I want to show you just how juicy
this chicken breast is.
I mean, you cannot beat this with a store-bought
rotisserie chicken, because the store-bought ones,
they sit under the heat lamps for awhile.
This is fresh.
I mean, it's like crisp salty skin.
It is amazing.
Okay, let's do this.
I'm hungry.
Oh, I can tell this is going to be
one juicy chicken. (laughs)
Take a look at this, get in close.
Yum. (laughs)
Yeah, store-bought can't touch this.
This is amazing.
All right, I'm going to get my little sampling here.
And then that crisp salty, peppery skin is so good.
All right.
Look at that juiciness.
Mm.
Mm, there really is nothing like a freshly roasted chicken.
Yum.
It's such a simple seasoning,
but the stuffing infuses the chicken,
and then that garlic and pepper, it's really all you need.
And butter of course. (laughs)
I don't know if I love the chicken or the vegetables more.
These veggies are just as good.
And that's what we're going to bite into right now.
I love how they get that crisp golden crust.
And they've been cooking in the chicken juices,
so they are so flavorful.
Mm. (laughs)
Mm, mm-hm.
These veggies are not just for garnish.
Seriously, that is the tastiest piece of potato.
It is so good.
This is one easy, excellent chicken dinner.
And it's showstopping.
I mean, this is super impressive.
You can serve this on Thanksgiving or friendsgiving.
And this is dinner tonight.
It's a perfect family dinner.
My family loves this.
And honey, I think it's a wrap.
Come try this.
It's so good.
You're gonna love it.
All right, I'm going to slice you the big piece.
Are you excited?
- Yes, I've been waiting for it for two hours.
- Two hours. (laughs)
- A little carrot.
- A little carrot, a little potato.
Isn't that good?
- Well, in my professional opinion,
this is the juiciest chicken you ever made.
- (laughs) Ow.
Oh, we'll see you in our next video.