French Butter-Roasted Chicken with Thyme and Pan Juices

What you need

• 1.6 kg (3 1/2 lb) whole chicken
• 50 g (3 1/2 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 head of garlic, halved crosswise
• 1 lemon, halved
• 3 shallots, peeled and halved
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground

Method

Restated from the original video

1. 1

   Take the chicken out of the fridge 45 min ahead. Heat the oven to 220 °C (425 °F).

2. 2

   Pat the chicken very dry inside and out with paper towels.

3. 3

   Strip the leaves from 2 thyme sprigs and mash them into the butter with 1 tsp of the salt and the pepper.

4. 4

   Slide your fingers under the breast skin and push half the butter into the gap. Rub the rest over the outside of the chicken.

5. 5

   Sprinkle the remaining salt in the cavity. Add the lemon halves and the 4 remaining thyme sprigs.

6. 6

   Tie the legs together with kitchen twine and tuck the wing tips under the body.

7. 7

   Set the chicken breast up in a roasting pan. Scatter the garlic halves and shallots around it.

8. 8

   Roast for 20 min, until the skin begins to brown.

9. 9

   Pour 150 ml of water into the pan and lower the oven to 190 °C (375 °F). Roast 40-50 min more, basting with the pan juices every 15 min.

10. 10

    Test the thigh: a thermometer in the thickest part must read 74 °C (165 °F), and the juices run clear.

11. 11

    Lift the chicken onto a board, tilting it so the juices from the cavity run into the pan. Cover loosely with foil and rest for 15 min.

12. 12

    Skim the fat from the pan juices. Simmer them over medium heat for 3-4 min, scraping up the browned bits, then season with salt.

13. 13

    Carve the chicken and serve with the pan juices, the soft garlic and the shallots.

Imported from masalaherb.com. Recipe Grab pulled out what you need to cook it; the video stays where its author put it.