Cooking with Kelly: Whole roast chicken

Mmm, roast chickens are delicious. They sell these at Jewel for $5 pretty frequently, but I like to make my own because then I know what's in it. I can modify the flavors, know what's in it and often, do it a bit cheaper.

I can get a whole chicken for $.89 per pound. The ingredients you need are:

One whole chicken, about five pounds

1 Tablespoon softened butter

1 onion, peeled and quartered

1 teaspoon canola oil

1 tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary

Salt and pepper to taste

Cooking spray

The first step is to remove the giblets! I've made this mistake once and that was enough. Ick.

Next, rinse the inside and exterior and pat dry with a paper towel. Then, work the skin away from the breast to make a pocket. Mix the butter, oil and rosemary together, then place under the skin. Salt and pepper the skin and the interior, then stuff the cavity with the onion.

Tuck the wings under the bird to allow for even cooking. You can either use cotton kitchen string to tie the legs together or you can use a bamboo skewer to do the job. I personally like to cut a small slit in the skin of the breast to stick the legs in -- it's just one less thing to remove at the end.

Place on a trivet or cooling rack before placing above a roasting rack. This will keep the skin crispy because the fat will drain away. Spray the outside of the bird with a spritz of cooking oil to ensure browning, then cook at 425 degree for 15 minutes. Then, lower the heat to 375 and cook until the bird reads at 165 degrees. My bird took about 45 minutes, but your time will vary with the size of the bird.