Published September 1, 2006.
To fine-tune this classic roast chicken and vegetables recipe, we brined our chicken with abundant garlic and bay leaves, which vastly improved the flavor of the meat. We found a simple way to infuse the vegetables with chicken flavor, not chicken fat: After removing the chicken to rest, we preserved the fond (browned bits) encrusted on the bottom of the roasting pan and held it aside while roasting the veggies in plain vegetable oil. We restored the chicken flavor by adding the fond back for the last 10 minutes of cooking time.
The times given in the recipe are designed to work with a 6- to 8-pound chicken. It's possible to roast a slightly smaller bird (around 5 pounds) by reducing the roasting time in step 4 to about 25 minutes, but if all you can find are 3- to 4- pound chickens, see the related recipe for Two Roast Chickens with Root Vegetables. Begin carving the chicken as soon as the vegetables are placed underneath the broiler. If using medium potatoes (2 to 3 inches in diameter), cut in half. If using large potatoes (3 to 4 inches in diameter), cut into quarters. We prefer a large, traditional (not nonstick) roasting pan for this recipe; if using a nonstick roasting pan, refrain from turning up the oven to broil when cooking the vegetables and stir them every 5 to 7 minutes to ensure they don't become too dark. If your broiler does not accommodate a roasting pan, continue to cook the vegetables at 500 degrees until done. You can substitute the following seasonal vegetables for any of those in the recipe: beets, celery root, fennel, rutabagas, and turnips; peel these vegetables (except for the fennel) and cut them into 2- to 3-inch pieces.
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