try this: perfect roast chicken

This really came out perfect! I'll never roast a chicken any other way! (I skipped the fennel)

Perfect Roast Chicken

1 (5 to 6 pound) roasting chicken
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large bunch fresh thyme, plus 20 sprigs
1 lemon, halved
1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted
1 large yellow onion, thickly sliced
4 carrots cut into 2-inch chunks
1 bulb of fennel, tops removed, and cut into wedges
Olive oil

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 1/2 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.

Recipe origin: The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook