Julia Child's Classic Roast Chicken for the week
- Yield 8 servings
- Prep 15 minutes
- Cook 1 hour 15 minutes
- Total 2 hours 30 minutes
Julia Child's Classic Roast Chicken for the week sits in the Chicken section of Regbie. The card serves 8 servings. Plan on 2 hours 30 minutes from the first measure to the plate. The amounts and the method are both written on this page.
Ingredients
Yield: 8 servings
- 2 whole chickens, 4 pounds each
- Diamond Crystal brand kosher salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 1 large lemon, thinly sliced
- 2 small onions, peeled and trimmed
- 1 bunch of fresh thyme
- 4 tablespoons softened butter or ghee
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 1 cup chopped yams
- ½ cup chopped onions
Method
Round up two roast chickens and pat them dry. Liberally season the birds inside and out with salt and pepper.
An hour before you’re ready to cook the chickens, take them out of the fridge to come to room temperature. At the same time, put your butter or ghee on the counter to soften, and Heat the oven to 425°F.
Once the chickens are no longer chilly, dry them off with a paper towel and stuff the cavities with lemon slices, onion, and thyme.
With a piece of string, tie the drumsticks together and tuck the wingtips back behind the chicken.
Use your fingers to massage the softened butter or ghee all over the skin, and lay the chickens breast-side up on the V-rack in a large roasting pan .
Set the chickens in the oven for 15 minutes to brown the skin.
Decrease the oven temperature to 350°F and baste every 8 to 10 minutes if you’re so inclined. (Me? The cook didn’t baste AT ALL. The cook told you: the cook’m lazy.)
In a bowl, toss the carrots, yams, and chopped onions with the remaining butter (or ghee) and salt and pepper.
A half hour after the chicken first went in the oven, add the root vegetables to the pan and toss in the accumulated juices.
Check the chicken for doneness about five minutes before the recommended weight-based cooking time (see formula above) is up. (the cook checked the cook pair of 4-pound chickens at the 70 minute mark.) Use an instant-read thermometer to make sure the thighs reach 165-170° F.
Lift the rack from the roasting pan and let the chicken rest for 20 minutes prior to carving.
Spoon on the root vegetables, carve up the birds, and dig in.
Kitchen notes
- You can salt the cook meat for at least a few hours and up to a day before the cook roast it to maximize the flavor-boosting potential.
- Use leftover roast chicken to make Madras Chicken Salad!
