In my mind, there’s no reason why anyone can’t roast a whole chicken…or a turkey for that matter. I know they’re a little freaky…a little too close to looking like it oughta be runnin’ across the farmyard. But once you get over actually handling a whole chicken, and you know how to roast it right, you’ll never fork over the bucks for a whole cooked chicken again.
What’s the secret, you ask? It’s this…
This is a digital food thermometer with a wired probe. You simply insert the probe into your meat, turn the thermometer on, set the desired cooked temperature, and hit start. The digital device sits on your countertop or stovetop, and the cord goes along with your meat into the oven. When your meat is done, the device sounds an alarm. Your meat is perfectly cooked, moist and juicy every single time! 
Now, when I roast a whole chicken, I always use my Lodge Cast Iron Grill Pan. Mine is well-seasoned after years of use, so it’s an easy cleanup afterward. I recommend this particular style with the edge because you can throw in some chicken stock while your bird is cooking, then convert it into chicken gravy (see below). This pan gets beautifully hot, and the heat emanates around the bird so the skin always turns out deliciously crispy.
Here’s my recipe for perfectly cooked roasted chicken. I hope you enjoy!
Roasted Whole Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken
- 1/2 lemon, cut in half
- 1/2 medium onion, cut in half
- 1 stalk celery, cut in quarters
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 4-5 T olive oil
- 3-4 T salt
- 3-4 T lemon pepper seasoning
- length of kitchen twine
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425*F. Remove organ pack and neck from inside chicken. DO NOT RINSE CHICKEN! Pat outside of chicken dry. Sprinkle 1T salt and 1 T of lemon pepper into body cavity. Tightly pack the body cavity with lemon, onion, celery and fresh thyme. Using kitchen twine, tie legs tightly together to enclose the cavity of the bird. Place the bird in grill pan. Tuck wings underneath. Drizzle bird with olive oil, ensuring the whole bird is coated. Generously sprinkle remaining salt and lemon pepper over outside of bird. Insert oven-safe meat thermometer into bird between the breast and leg (roughly the groin area). Set thermometer to 165* finished temperature and turn thermometer on. Place bird in oven and roast until thermometer sounds at 165*. When bird is done, remove from oven and let rest 10 minutes before slicing.
