Perfect Roast Chicken in Your Kitchen

(CBS)  Do you know how to roast a chicken?

For those that don't, school is in session. In "The Early Show"'s Cooking School, contributor Katie Lee shared her know-how to help you make a perfect roast chicken in your own kitchen.

"Early Show" Recipes Galore

Roast Chicken

INGREDIENTS:
For the chicken:
1 six-pound organic roasting chicken
Salt and pepper
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons mixed herbs (like sage, thyme, and rosemary)
2 onions (one sliced 1/2 inch thick, one quartered)
1 bulb garlic
1/2 lemon
Sprigs of thyme

For the gravy:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken stock
Salt and pepper

Special equipment: iron skillet, a meat thermometer

METHOD:
Preheat oven to 425 F.

Remove giblets from chicken cavity. Generously season inside the cavity with salt and pepper.

In a bowl, use a fork to mash butter and herbs until combined. Using your fingers, loosen the skin of the chicken. Smear about 3/4 of the butter under the skin of the chicken. Spread the remaining butter all over the top of the skin. Generously season with salt and pepper.

Arrange onion slices on the bottom of the iron skillet. Place chicken on top. Tuck the wings under the chicken. Slice the top of the garlic bulb to expose the cloves but leave in the peel. Stuff the cavity with the garlic, lemon, and thyme. Use kitchen twine to tie the legs of the chicken together.

Bake for approximately 1 1/2 hours, until the chicken is beautifully golden brown and a thermometer reads 165 F degrees and the juices run clear. Transfer chicken to a cutting board and tent with foil. Let stand 10 minutes before carving.

While the chicken is resting, make the gravy. Use a slotted spoon to remove the onions from the pan. Place the pan on over medium heat and melt butter. Stir in flour and let brown 2 to 3 minutes. Whisk in stock and bring to a low boil. Reduce heat and simmer a few more minutes, until thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Remove twine from chicken legs and remove garlic, herbs, and lemon from the cavity. Carve and serve with gravy.

[kkkdh]

organic or not this is the very best roast chicken i have made in 39
years pay no attention to organic or not the recipe is what matters and this country girl loves it and your show cook on!!

[mrt750]

I find your organic chicken comment outrageous.... I am a producer of quality corn, most of which is shipped out of the midwest to feed the chickens you just knocked. I also feed beef, have neighbors who raise pork..... I would be hard pressed to believe you can tell a difference in taste between the "organic", and one which is not..And more so that the "organic" is better... your cooks reasoning for better taste is completely unqualified.!! I would like to add.. Chicken producers have spent a great deal of time formulating the feed diets for the birds so as to produce a lean product... after what your cook applied to the bird to roast it,,organic would be the least of my worries... 4 tablespoons of butter???? I am sorry to insult you but your cook is a loony...... I will also echo the comments of the professor from NY... He is right on....

[mrt750]

I apologize for the duplicate.. Please delete

[nauturallyhealthy]

Have you tasted organic chicken? It is most definitely better tasting hands down. Personally, I choose organic over non-organic for every type of food whenever possible. There is a plethora of research indicating how much better organic is for nutrition and health. By the way, is that corn you're growing GM by any chance?

[mrt750]

I find your organic chicken comment outrageous.... I am a producer of quality corn, most of which is shipped out of the midwest to feed the chickens you just knocked. I also feed beef, have neighbors who raise pork..... I would be hard pressed to believe you can tell a difference in taste between the "organic", and one which is not..And more so that the "organic" is better... your cooks reasoning for better taste is completely unqualified.!! I would like to add.. Chicken producers have spent a great deal of time formulating the feed diets for the birds so as to produce a lean product... after what your cook applied to the bird to roast it,,organic would be the least of my worries... 4 tablespoons of butter???? I am sorry to insult you but your cook is a loony...... I will also echo the comments of the professor from NY... He is right on....

[wbailey113]

I must of missed it, what do you do with the other quartered onion? Put it in the cavity?

[keenebe]

I am currently watching the Early Show - one that I look forward to watchin every morning. As I was watching the portion "Perfect Roast Chicken", I heard the comment that you should use organic chicken because it contains no antibiotics. I am a professor in Dairy Science at College in central NY. As far as I know, there is no tolerace to use antibiotics in ANY food - weather it's organic or not. To promote an organic product is one thing - but to mis inform people that organic foods are safer is completely false.

It is a personal choice to use organic foods, but NO FOOD with antibiotics are tolerated and allowed into our nationsl food chain. That is a definite fact.

Thank you for your time.