Rosemary & Garlic Roasted Chicken

What I used:
One Whole Chicken
3 decent sized sprigs of Rosemary
10-12 fresh Garlic Cloves
1/2 Stick of Softened Butter
Roasting Pan
400˚ Preheated Oven

This my friends was de-lic-ious! I haven't had much experience roasting chicken. In fact, this is my second attempt. The first was some what bland, but we won't talk about that. ;)

The fun thing about buying a chicken whole is all the fun stuff that you find inside. Make sure you remove all "extra parts" from the chicken's cavity. These extra parts are good for making chicken stock so don't throw them out! Just put 'em aside for now. We'll tackle homemade chicken stock soon. Now, you can rinse your chicken or not - some people feel like rinsing the chicken increases the chance of spreading bacteria, so go with your gut and do as you please. Once you're done rising/not rinsing place your chicken in the roasting pan.

Okay, so we've got our chicken, ready for stuffing! Insert your garlic cloves and two of the sprigs of rosemary  in the chicken's cavity. Next, take the half a stick of softened butter and smooth over the entire out side of the chicken, don't forget the bottom! Don't be afraid to use your hands, just make sure you wash them throughly after your done spreading the butter. Chop up the third sprig of rosemary and sprinkle all over the outside of the chicken. Your chicken is now ready for the oven! For my four pound bird it took about and hour and twenty minutes to bring it to 180˚. I have a handy dandy wireless digital thermometer thanks to my awesome fiancée that I used to make sure my chicken was throughly cooked. If you don't have a digital one at least get yourself a regular meat thermometer. Definitely an essential when cooking any kind of meat, especially poultry! Also, make sure to take the temp in the meatiest part of the thigh!

Once the chicken is done cooking. Take it out of the oven and let it sit for a good 5- 10 minutes to rest. Then carve and enjoy!

** Adding veggies is always an option and makes for a great side! I added a cup of water, diced potatoes, sliced carrots and broccoli about 30 minutes into cooking.