Sunday Baked Chicken

In ‘Paula Deen’s Southern Cooking Bible’

• Ready In: 2 hrs
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 4  tablespoons butter, at room temperature
• 1  teaspoon black pepper
• 1  teaspoon dried thyme
• 1⁄2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 (3 1/2lb)  whole chickens, rinsed and patted dry
• 2  teaspoons salt
• 1  lb yukon gold potato, halved
• 1⁄2 lb carrot, halved crosswise
• 4  garlic cloves, unpeeled

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a bowl, mash together the butter, ½ tsp black pepper, the thyme and the paprika.
3. Sprinkle the chicken inside and out with the salt and the remaining ½ tsp black pepper.
4. Rub the chicken all over with the butter mixture, spreading it as evenly as possible so the chicken will brown evenly.
5. Scatter the potatoes, carrots, and garlic in the bottom of a large roasting pan.
6. Top the vegetables with a roasting rack.
7. Place the chicken on the rack, breast side up.
8. Roast, stirring the vegetables occasionally, until the chicken is golden, the thigh juices run clear when pierced with a knife, or the temperature registers 180 degrees in the thigh, about 1 ½ hours.
9. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board to rest for 5 minutes before carving.
10. Serve with the vegetables and pan juices.