this chicken is so good! wash the 3 pound, free range, kindly raised and dispatched of chicken. pat dry inside and out. loosely stuff with a mix of one chopped up lemon, crushed garlic cloves, olive oil, salt pepper. sometimes rosemary and/or bay leaf, thyme, whatever.
put it in a roasting dish breast up, slightly elevated on a grate or upside down stainless steel saucer so heat can get under.
chop up a lot of root vegetables- red onion chunks and turnips, parsnips, rutabaga, carrots... toss them in the pan around the bird, drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper.
cook at 350 for about an hour and a half. sometimes the veggies take a bit longer, so i take the bird out and let them finish.
i usually start it at 400 degrees and turn it down after 10 minutes. and, after about half an hour, baste bird and veg with drippings and olive oil every 10 minutes. to see if it's done, pierce the bird where the leg meets the breast. if the juice runs clear it's ready!
remove the veg and drain the chicken juices back into the pan. remove the garlic and lemon chunks. pour the pan juices into a small sauce pan.
keep the bird, etc. warm while you deglaze the roasting pan with vermouth or wine and add it to the other juices. to get rid of the fat i put it in the fridge and let it cool. the fat separates to the top and solidifies so it can basically be peeled or spooned off. then i reheat the pungent liquid and drizzle it on the plates instead of gravy.
once the chicken is carved, you can take the carcass and boil it for an hour or two until the liquid is reduced and thickened, and strain to add to the sauce for the leftovers, or you can freeze it to add to the sauce for your next chicken!
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