Next, prep roasting chicken, by removing the innards from the cavity (usually it’s in a bag inside the cavity).
Place the chicken on a roasting pan with rack. You are more than welcome to trim the fat at this point, but it creates delicious flavor if you leave it on. Prep potatoes, by cutting them into quarters and placing on the bottom of the pan around the chicken.
Next, rub chicken with about a tablespoon of olive oil. Then, season chicken (and potato wedges) with salt and pepper (to taste), thyme, rosemary, and basil. Again- all of these spices are to taste. I used about ½ teaspoon – 1 teaspoon of each spice. Take a half a lemon and squeeze juice over the top of chicken. And, places 2 tablespoons of butter (thinly sliced, see photo) and a wedge of lemon on top.
Pour about 2 cups of chicken stock on the bottom of your roasting pan. This will be used for basting later.
Place chicken in oven at 400ºF and let roast for about 60 minutes. At this point, baste chicken with chicken stock from the bottom of pan. Place back in oven and let cook for 15-30 minutes longer.
Instert meat thermometer in one of the chicken breasts. It should read ~180. If it has not reached this temperature, baste again and place back in oven to continue cooking until done.
