Buttery Lemon-Herb-Rubbed Roast Chicken

Serves 3 or 4

¼ cup fresh parsley

leaves 6 fresh sage leaves 1 tablespoon fresh

rosemary leaves 1 scallion, roughly

chopped 1 medium clove garlic, minced or grated on a Microplane (about 1 teaspoon) 2 teaspoons kosher

salt 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (from 1 lemon) 2 tablespoons

unsalted butter 1 whole chicken,

3½ to 4 pounds

1. Adjust oven rack to the middle position and place a pizza steel or stone on it. Heat oven to 500 degrees for at least half an hour. Line a heavy, rimmed baking sheet with lightly crumpled aluminum foil. Place a wire rack in the pan.

2. Combine the parsley, sage, rosemary, scallion, garlic, salt, pepper, lemon zest and butter in a food processor and process until a paste is formed, scraping down the sides as necessary.

3. Separate the chicken skin from the breasts with your fingers. Rub the herb mixture all over the chicken and under the skin.

4. Place the chicken breast-side up on the wire rack in the pan, place the pan on the pizza stone in the oven and lower the temperature to 350 degrees. Roast until the coolest part of the breast registers 145 degrees on an instantread thermometer, and the legs register at least 165 degrees, about 1 hour, brushing the chicken with the pan drippings halfway through cooking, if desired. Remove from oven and let rest, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Then carve and serve. Recipe from The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science by J. Kenji LopezAlt. Copyright © 2016 by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt. With permission of the publisher, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. All rights reserved.