Preheat the oven
to 375deg. F. Put the garlic, carrot, celery and onion into
the cavity of the chicken with salt and pepper, 1 tablespoon
of olive oil, and 3 sprigs of rosemary. Place the rest on the
bird later. Truss the bird for appearance so that it looks
neat and tidy. Rub the chicken all over with 2 tablespoons
of the oil. Add more salt, and massage the bird again very
well. Tuck one of the remaining 2 sprigs of rosemary into each
wing, so that they are close to the body. The outside sprigs
may well burn up during the roasting if they are too exposed,
so tuck them almost under the wings. But in any case, do not
worry because even burned they will give that characteristic
rosemary flavor to the chicken.
Add about 1 tablespoon of oil to the roasting pan and spread
it around. Then lay the chicken on its side to roast for the
first 15 minutes. Turn it over to cook on the other side for
15 minutes. Then turn it on its back, which will mean the breast
is up, for about 1 hour more. Every time you turn it, baste the
chicken with the oil and pan juices. A turkey baster works very
well for this job or else just use a large metal spoon. Continue
to roast the chicken until it is cooked, basting as often as
you can. When it is done it should have an internal temperature
of 165deg. F at the thickest part of the thigh meat. In Italy
chickens are cooked longer and as a result they can be dry. You
can cook yours longer if you like, but do not overcook it too
much because then you won't enjoy the taste and juiciness of
the chicken. As soon as the chicken is out of the oven, squeeze
the lemon juice all over it.
Let the chicken rest in its juices for about 20 minutes
and then remove it to a heated dish and keep it in a warm
place. Skim off and discard most of the fat from the top
of the liquid remaining in the roasting pan. Thoroughly
scrape the pan of any bits of skin and pour them, along
with any other pan juices, into a frying pan. Cook the
juices on high heat for about 2 minutes to reduce them
a bit and then strain them through a sieve into a hot gravy
boat. By the time you have done this, the chicken will
have rested a total of about 20 minutes, which is just
about right. If you serve chicken too hot or try to carve
it too hot, your results neither taste nor look as good.
Carve the chicken and serve it on warm plates. Spoon on
the pan juices. Some people like to east the vegetables
that were in the cavity. They are delicious and soaked
with juices.
from the GIA Cooking Class, Lesson III
