Honey Glazed Lemon Roast Chicken

Ingredients

• One 4 pound whole chicken
• 1 cup lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• A few sprigs of fresh thyme
• 1/2 fresh lemon, cut into wedges
• 1/4 cup honey, heated to make it easier to brush

Directions

1. Rub the chicken all over with about 2 teaspoons of kosher salt. Put the lemon juice and the whole chicken into a resealable plastic bag, such as a large freezer bag, then seal it up and gently shift the lemon juice around until the chicken is coated.
2. Set the bag inside a bowl, because leaks happen and your fridge does not need that adventure, then chill for 2 hours or overnight. Turn the chicken now and then so every side keeps in contact with the lemon juice.
3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C), with an oven rack positioned in the bottom 1/3 of the oven. Take the chicken out of the refrigerator, remove it from the marinade bag, and discard the marinade.
4. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Rub the olive oil over the outside of the chicken, then season it all over with salt and pepper, including inside the cavity. Tuck the thyme sprigs and lemon wedges into the cavity.
5. Set the chicken on a rack over a shallow roasting pan, so the heat can move around the chicken more evenly. Roast for 20 minutes at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C), then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Continue roasting for another 45 minutes.
6. While the chicken roasts, warm the honey in a bowl in the microwave or in a small saucepan so it brushes on easily. Once the chicken has roasted at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes, use a pastry brush to coat the top and sides generously with honey.
7. Roast for another 10 to 15 minutes at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), until an instant read thermometer registers 160 degrees F (71 degrees C) in the breast and 170 degrees F (77 degrees C) in the thigh, or until the juices run clear, not pink, when you pierce the breast and thigh with a sharp knife.
8. Honey can scorch when it gets too hot, so keep an eye on the chicken here. If the skin is browning too much before the chicken is cooked through, loosely cover it with aluminum foil. Brush the chicken with honey 1 more time just before you take it out of the oven.
9. Remove the chicken from the oven and move it to a cutting board. Loosely tent it with foil and let it rest for 15 minutes.
10. Use a metal spatula to scrape up the drippings from the roasting pan. Pour the pan juices and drippings into a small saucepan, removing any blackened bits from burnt honey. Spoon off the fat, leaving all but 1 tablespoon behind.
11. If you’d like to turn the juices into a thicker gravy, stir together a slurry with 1 teaspoon of cornstarch or flour and 1 tablespoon of water. Add the slurry to the drippings, then heat and stir until thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
12. Serve the chicken with the pan juices or the thickened gravy.