Roast Chicken

Method

1. season10 min
   then uncovered in the refrigerator, 3–24 hours
   chicken + salt + black pepper, rubbed over the skin and inside the cavity, then set on a rack and left uncovered in the cold — salt draws moisture out, the moisture dissolves the salt, and it walks back in seasoned; meanwhile the fridge's dry air dehydrates the skin, and dry skin is the whole precondition for crisp skin. Skip this and the bird spends its first twenty minutes in the oven boiling off surface water instead of browning.
2. rest30 min
   room temperature
   chicken, out of the refrigerator while the oven heats to 220°C / 425°F — a fridge-cold core forces you to overcook the breast to get the thigh done
3. prep5 min
   chicken + butter slid under the breast skin with a finger + olive oil rubbed over the outside; butter under the skin bastes the leanest muscle from the inside, oil on top conducts heat and browns. Then stuff the cavity: lemon halves + crushed garlic + thyme
4. truss5 min
   chicken tied — one loop of twine around the drumstick ends pulling them together over the cavity, wings folded back under the shoulders. Trussing does two jobs: it closes the cavity so the aromatics steam the inside rather than venting hot air past the breast, and it stops the legs and wingtips from splaying into the direct heat and scorching before the thigh joint is cooked. The compact bird also carves in clean slices instead of collapsing.
5. roast60 min
   220°C / 425°F, breast up, uncovered
   trussed chicken set breast-up on onion rounds + carrot in the pan — the vegetables act as the rack and catch the drippings. No basting and no opening the door: every look costs 15°C of oven recovery, and the liquid you spoon over the skin re-wets exactly what you spent a day drying. Pull it when the thickest part of the thigh, not touching bone, reads 74°C / 165°F and the breast reads 68°C / 155°F; the juices at the joint should run clear.
6. rest20 min
   loosely tented, off the heat
   chicken, on a board — carryover finishes the cooking: the hot exterior keeps driving heat inward and the breast climbs another 3–5°C after it leaves the oven, which is why you pull it under temperature rather than at it. The rest also lets contracted muscle fibers relax and reabsorb the liquid they squeezed out; carve at five minutes and that liquid runs onto the board instead of staying in the meat. Cut the twine, then carve legs, thighs, wings, breast.
7. deglaze5 min
   medium-high, on the stovetop
   roasting pan + flour stirred into the drippings + white wine + chicken stock, scraped until the browned fond lifts and the sauce thickens = pan gravy; add any juice that pooled under the resting bird