Herb-Roasted Chicken

Ingredients:
1 4-lb whole chicken, neck and guts removed, pinfeathers (if any) pulled
1 stick butter, at room temperature
2/3 oz fresh basil
2/3 oz rosemary+sage+thyme (you can buy this as a "poultry herbs" kit with the produce at Meijer's)
1 clove garlic
paprika

Preheat oven to 350.

Remove stems from basil, sage, and rosemary; reserve stems and place leaves on cutting board. Use a sharp heavy knife to FINELY chop the herbs. Place chopped herbs in small bowl. Cut butter into chunks and add to bowl. Use a fork to combine well.

Cut garlic in half; reserve for later use. Mince other half of garlic and stir into herb butter. Set aside.

Pat chicken dry. Use fingers to gently loosen skin over breasts. Try not to tear the skin. Push a few lumps of herb butter in between skin and meat. Smear chicken skin with remaining herb butter. Place thyme and herb stems inside chicken cavity. Season outside of chicken with a little paprika (for color).

Place chicken in roaster pan, or in a 9x13" pan if you don't have a roaster. Bake at 350 for 75-90 minutes, or till juices run clear when the breast is pierced at the thickest part. If your chicken has been previously thawed, there may be a few red spots in the dark meat; this is okay. You won't get sick.

Remove chicken from oven and let rest 10 minutes before carving. (This will allow the juices to move back into the meat, instead of leaking out when you carve it.)



Your chicken should look similar to this before you bake it:

And it should look something like this when you pull it out:

(I put a bunch of baby carrots in the pan to roast with the chicken for Jeremy)