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In the winter, culinarily, I get into a routine. I roast a chicken every week, eat off of it, make enchiladas or chicken salad or whatever else with it, save the bones and make stock with those, then soup. Amazingly, my husband and I can eat around 8 meals a piece off a 4lb. chicken that cost $6. You can’t beat that.

Also, there are some many different variations on how this can be done, so I’ll give several alternatives. But the first ingredients listed get the best results (in my opinion).

1 4lb. to 5lb. bird
1 onion, cut into large chunks (or shallots)
1 head garlic, halved (or ginger)
1 lemon, cut into large chunks (or lime)
1 bunch fresh thyme (or rosemary)
3 tablespoons butter (or olive oil)
salt and pepper

Rinse your chicken inside and out. Pat dry. Heavily salt and pepper the inside of the bird. Place in your heaviest stock pot. Then stuff with the onion, garlic, lemon, and half the thyme. If it won’t all fit, just throw the extras in the pot. Next soften the butter in the microwave and mix in salt and pepper and the rest of the herbs. Spread the butter all over the outside of the chicken–gotta get your hands all birdy if you want to do this right.

Roast in a 375 degree oven for an hour to an hour and a half. Once an hour has passed, start checking every ten minutes or so with a meat thermometer. This is a time to be reasonable, so don’t overcook your chicken. Carry over heat will continue to cook it when it’s resting so I usually look for 165 in the breast and 170 in the leg. Plus if you got a nice organic chicken that you have confidence in, you have nothing to worry about. And remember, organic chickens sometimes have a pink color even when they’re fully cooked.

Let it rest for 15 minutes and then carve and eat. It’s never as good as it is that first time so make sure you dig right in. Also, you can roast potatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes, onions, etc. in the pot for a veg side too. And if you’re using the chicken for a specific recipe (like Tom Kha for instance) then roast it with the flavors you’ll later be incorporating ie. ginger and lime. Delish.