1. If starting the day before, remove chicken from the packaging, remove the neck and giblets, saving for another use, and pat the chicken dry with a paper towel. Salt generously outside, and salt and pepper the cavity, and place the chicken on a plate, unwrapped, in the fridge for 24 hours.

2. On the day of cooking, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. (If not starting the day before, follow the instructions above up to the salting.) Tuck the wing tips underneath the breasts, stand the chicken up vertically in a tube or bundt pan (even better if the tube pan has a removable center/tube that can be placed in and ovenproof skillet for roasting) fitting the cavity of the chicken down over the tube so it stands up in the pan.

3. Roast the chicken for 40 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, quickly take the chicken out of the tube pan and lay it down flat, breast up in an oven proof skillet or standard roasting pan. Put the chicken back in the oven, raise the temperature to 500 degrees, and cook for another 15 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the skin is golden brown and crispy. The chicken is good through when an instant read thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh, but not touching a bone, registers 165 degrees, or the juices run clear when the thigh is pricked with a fork. 

4. Remove chicken from the oven and let rest for 10-15 minutes before carving and serving. Enjoy!

If you are in the mood for chicken but need something faster, try our chicken thighs recipe!