To get the most out of a whole chicken, roasting is the way to go. It’s an easy and flavorful way to prepare this protein-rich, lean meat, plus you’ll have dinner for two and lunch for the next day.
Simple prep steps make the job easy. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cautions not to rinse chicken of any kind — the droplets of water can splash around the kitchen, actually spreading bacteria.
So unwrap the chicken and place it directly in your roasting pan. Check inside the cavity for any giblets, usually the neck, gizzard, heart, and liver. You can use them to make stock for a future recipe, but skip the liver (it’s larger than the heart) since it can make the broth bitter. Just roast it along with the chicken for a tasty extra morsel.
After prepping the bird as directed in the recipe and before placing it in the oven, be sure to
