The Ultimate Roast Chicken

Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence

Show: Tyler's UltimateEpisode: Chicken

Rated: 5 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (133)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(133)

Cook Time:
1 hr 20 min
Level:
--
Yield:
4 to 6 servings

Times:

Prep: 40 min
Inactive Prep: 10 min
Cook: 1 hr 20 min
Total:: 2 hr 10 min

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Ingredients

1 (5 1/2 pound) free-range chicken
1/2 bunch each fresh oregano, thyme, and parsley
1/4 pound unsalted butter, softened
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 orange, halved
1/2 head garlic
1 medium white onion, halved, plus 1 onion
6 strips smoked bacon
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup dry sherry
Serving suggestion: roast potatoes, watercress and gravy.

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Rinse the chicken with cool water, inside and out. Pat it dry with paper towels. Divide the herbs, keeping 1/2 of them whole. Finely chop the other half. In a small bowl, mash the softened butter with the chopped herbs, until combined. Rub the herbed butter under the skin, as well as all over the outside of the chicken. Season the bird all over with salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity with the orange, garlic, 1 onion, and the remaining herbs. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine to help hold its shape. Place the chicken, breast-side up, in a roasting pan. Put the remaining onion into the pan, which will help color and flavor the sauce. Lay the strips of bacon across the breast of the chicken and roast for 25 minutes.

Remove the bacon and baste the chicken with the drippings and cook for another 25 minutes to brown the skin. The chicken is done when an instant-read thermometer reads 165 degrees F when inserted into the thickest part of the thigh (the legs of the chicken should wiggle easily from the sockets too.) Remove the chicken to a platter and let stand for 10 minutes, so the juices settle back into the meat before carving.

Meanwhile, remove the softened onion from the roasting pan. Tilt the pan so the drippings collect in 1 corner, skimming off as much fat as possible, and leaving the drippings. Place the roasting pan on top of the stove over medium heat and take a wooden spoon to scrape up the flavor from the bottom of the pan. Stir the flour into the drippings to make a roux-like paste. Pour in the chicken broth in stages; continue to stir to dissolve the flour evenly to prevent lumps. Stir in the sherry and season with salt and pepper.

To serve, carve the chicken tableside and squeeze the oranges from the cavity over the meat.

Difficulty: Easy

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Comments & Reviews

recipe The Ultimate Roast Chicken
Shaun Lexington, KY 02-01-2010
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AMAZING!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

This is one of my favorite recipes! Amazing flavor, and very juicy! Rather easy to make too!
recipe The Ultimate Roast Chicken
Jared Stanhope, NJ 01-30-2010
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Amazingly juicy and flavorful
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

This is a great recipe for roasting a chicken. The bird came out sooo juicy with tons of flavor .... and that was even after... my wife cooked the bird UPSIDE DOWN !! Read more
recipe The Ultimate Roast Chicken
CHRISTEN Corona, CA 01-18-2010
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Soooo GOOOOD!!!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

This recipe is fantastic! Tried and true every time. It also makes the best gravy I've ever had. I made this for a dinner... party and had people asking me for the recipe months later becuase they remembered how good it was. Fabulous recipe Tyler!Read more
recipe The Ultimate Roast Chicken
Mark Vienna, VA 12-11-2009
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great gravy, chicken was wonderfully juicy...
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I made this last night, omitting the bacon and cooking a 6.5lb bird on 380 for right about 2hrs. The chicken registerd 190... degrees when I tested it in several places. I did however juice 1/2 the orange into the cavity and inserted the other half. I also inserted 1/2 an onion and juiced 1/4 of a lemon and inserted the other 1/4 along with the herbs. An hour into the cooking I loosely tented some foil over the bird for about 30 mins and then took off the foil and let the skin crisp up for the final 30 mins. I only basted it 2-3 times during the cooking process but I did add three 2Tbsp additions of water to my roasting pan during the cooking because it was on the larger size and meant more for a turkey; I didn't want the fat drippings to start burning and smoking. Also to the roaster pan I added one chunked sweet potato, one quartered onion separated into pieces, 4 rough chopped carrots, and 10 or so new red potatoes - all of these were liberally coated in olive oil and seasoned in salt and pepper. Upon serving I discarded the other vegetables and kept the potatoes. One thing about the herbed butter mixture spread under the skin, I added two large minced cloves of garlic and generous amounts of salt and pepper to the butter since this was going to season the meat and not just the skin. The dry sherry gravy just put everything over the top. Good luck!Read more
recipe The Ultimate Roast Chicken
Justin Blaine, MN 11-23-2009
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It was alright
Rated: 3 stars out of 5

This was only OK for me. Chicken was moist but lacking a real kick that I was expecting. I won't make it again.
recipe The Ultimate Roast Chicken
philip fontana, CA 11-21-2009
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6 stars
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

6 STARS not 5 Just an amazing and delicious recipe.