Ingredients
One whole chicken (Duh!). You don't want one of the fancy, flavored,
stuffed, or otherwise Fooled Around With chickens. You want a fryer or
roaster — stewing chickens
are just that. They make good
soup or coq a vin. Not this recipe.
Prep
Rinse the bird and pick off any loose pinfeathers. Put in roasting pan, breast side up. If you want to use the juices for something else (as opposed to the drippings), you need a pan with a cover.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Cooking
Put bird in oven uncovered. After 20 minutes, reduce heat to 350 degrees F and cook for 20 minutes per pound. If you're going to use the juices for something, you need to cover the pan for the last 30 minutes or so of cooking time.
Serving
Let sit for a few minutes. (This lets the bird re-absorb some of the juices that cooked out.) You can use the time to make gravy.
