The Best Roast Chicken

Preheat the oven to 425°F - the oven needs to be fully heated.

Dry the chicken very well with paper towels, inside and out. Moisture creates steam - the less it steams, the drier the heat, the better. Salt and pepper the cavity, then the outside of the chicken. A nice uniform coating that will result in a crisp, salty, flavorful skin (about 1 tablespoon). When it's cooked, you should still be able to make out the salt baked onto the crisp skin. Season to taste with pepper.

Place the chicken in a roasting pan and, when the oven is up to temperature, put the chicken in the oven. Don't touch it - I leave it alone—I don't baste it, I don't add butter; you can if you wish, but I feel this creates steam, which I don't want. Roast it until it's done, about 75 minutes.

Remove it from the oven and add the thyme or rosemary i you'd like to the pan. Baste the chicken with the juices and thyme and let it rest for 15 minutes on a cutting board.

Cut the breast down the middle and serve it on the bone.