- 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. 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.
