Ina Garten is the OG Queen of Food Network. Her show, The Barefoot Contessa, has been on the air since 2002 and is still going strong. Ina Garten's roast chicken recipe is a fan favorite on Food Network with rave reviews. She has authored 12 cookbooks, all of which have been bestsellers. She is also known for her fabulous friends, her gorgeous Hamptons barn, and her adorably romantic relationship with Jeffrey.
Her signature phrase, "How easy is that" perfectly sums up her food. She prefers recipes that focus on simplicity and quality ingredients. Fans that watch her show know that good ingredients take the dish to a new level, especially when making a dish where you want the food to really shine.
Unsurprisingly the dish Ina cooks the most is chicken. Chicken breast, oven roasted chicken, and many other chicken dishes feature prominently in Ina's cooking. In her show, she tells viewers that she makes a chicken dish every Friday night to share with husband, Jeffrey. With 20 years of experience roasting chicken, Ina's a bit of a chicken expert. Roasted chicken is the ultimate comfort food, and the perfect dish for a weeknight meal. Let's check out how to make the best roast chicken you'll ever taste. According to Ina, anyway.
Ina Garten's Perfect Roast Chicken
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When we say Ina has the perfect roasted chicken, we are not being hyperbolic. Ina Garten's roast chicken recipe has 1412 5-star reviews on Food Network. While the original publication is found in The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, it is easily accessible on foodnetwork.com and her own website for anyone who wants to cook this.
Fans say that what makes Ina Garten's roast chicken the absolute best is the crispy skin.
The ingredients list is simple: 1 whole chicken, 1 bunch fresh thyme plus 20 sprigs of thyme, 1 lemon, 1 head garlic, 1 large yellow onion, 1 bulb of fennel, butter, olive oil, kosher salt, and black pepper.
Ina starts by removing the giblets, washing her chicken (which updated guidelines warn against) and removing any pinfeathers. Pat the chicken dry so that the seasonings stick.
Season the inside of the chicken with salt and pepper and fill the body of the chicken with lemon, garlic, and thyme. Brush melted butter on the outside of the chicken and place the bird on the vegetables. Mix the vegetables with olive oil and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.
Roast for 1.5 hours, remove, and cover with foil for 20 minutes. Serve the chicken with vegetables and pan juices.
Watch this step by step video for detailed instructions.
Ina Garten Roast Chicken Variations
While people say to never mess with a classic, Ina's subtle tweaks to her chicken recipe are delightful. The most popular spin on her classic roasted chicken recipe is what she calls engagement roast chicken . This dish got its name because several women who made this recipe claim to have been engaged to their boyfriends within 24 hours. While there is certainly no guarantee, even Ina has said it is better than her roasted chicken.
During an episode of Cook Like a Pro she said, "I think tonight I'm going to shake it up a little bit. I'm going to do a skillet-roasted lemon chicken which is kind of like roasted chicken but better."
Ina's engagement chicken is an almost identical recipe. The main difference is that she makes a sauce with dry white wine, a cup of chicken stock, lemon, and flour as a thickener.
Check out the full recipe if you want to switch up your chicken game for the week.
