Ina Garten’s Perfect Roast Chicken With A StoneGable Twist

PERFECT ROAST CHICKEN

(4-5 pound) roasting chicken
salt and pepper, kosher if possible

1. 2 bunches fresh thyme
2. 1 bunch parsley
3. 1 lemon, halved
4. 1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise
5. 3 sage leaves
6. 1 stick unsalted butter
7. 1/2 tsp lemon zest
8. 1 tsp lemon juice
9. 1 large yellow onion, peeled and sliced
10. 16 baby carrots, or 4 large carrots, peeled and cut lengthwise and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
11. 1 cup chicken stock
12. olive oil
13. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees .

Compound Butter:
Put room temperature butter in a bowl. Add 2 finely minced garlic cloves and 1/2 tsp lemon zest to butter.

Add lemon juice.
Chop 2 TBS parsley, 1 tsp thyme and 1 small sage leaf and add to the bowl. Mix well.
Form butter into a ball. Reserve.

For Vegetables:
In a large bowl combine carrots, onions, 10 sprigs of thyme. 2 TBS chopped parsley, salt , pepper and olive oil. Toss. Reserve.
Remove giblet packet from chicken. Rinse chicken inside and out and pat-dry the outside of the chicken with a paper towel. Salt and pepper inside of chicken.

Stuff the chicken cavity with 1/2 of the garlic, 1/2 of the lemon, a handful of parsley, 6-8 sprigs of thyme, a fresh bay leaf and a sage leaf.
Separate the skin from the flesh of the chicken breast, making a pocket. Put 1 TBS compound butter under each breast. Press butter until evenly distributed. Using your fingers rub extra compound butter into the skin of the chicken.
Tie the legs and tuck the wings underneath the chicken. Put the chicken in a roasting pan. Salt and pepper the outside of the chicken.Place the veggies around the chickens and add 1/2 ~1 cup of chicken stock to the pan.