Hey, y'all! If you know me, or have been here on the blog before, you are aware of the fact that Ina Garten is one of my idols. I'm excited to be sharing Ina Garten's (the Barefoot Contessa) recipe for the Perfect Roast Chicken - which is one of the most hyped recipes on the internet. Does it live up to the hype?
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I'll say this after making it: it's worthy of the hype. It is, as the name suggests, perfect. However, if something is good enough for Ina + Jeffrey, it's good enough for me.
Please note that this is a recipe from Ina herself, for which I can take 0 credit, yet give all of the praise. For more of Ina's recipes, visit here.
Ina Garten's (the Barefoot Contessa) Perfect Roast Chicken

Ina's Perfect Roast Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 5-6 lb roasting chicken
- Kosher salt
- Freshly-ground black pepper
- 1 large bunch fresh thyme plus 20 sprigs
- 2 tbsp. butter melted
- 1 lemon halved
- 1 head garlic cut in half crosswise
- 4 carrots
- 1 large yellow onion thickly sliced
- 1 bulb of fennel tops removed and cut into wedges
- olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Place the onions, carrots, and fennel in a roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.
- Roast the chicken for 1 ½ hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes. Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables.
Notes
Nutrition

Y’all come back now, ya hear?
My best,
JC
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