GARLIC VINEGAR BASTED ROAST CHICKEN

Serves 4 to 5.

Serve with mashed potatoes or rice to soak up the juices.

• 1 (4- to 41/2- lb.) chicken, cut into 8 pieces

• 16 large cloves garlic, lightly crushed and peeled

• 1 large onion, coarsely chopped

• 1 tsp. coarse or kosher salt

• 1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper

• 8 branches fresh thyme

• Zest of 1/2 an orange, peeled off in strips

• 1/3 c. good-tasting red or white wine vinegar, plus more as needed

• 1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil

• 1/2 c. chicken broth

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Rinse the chicken and pat it dry. Scatter the garlic and onion in a large, shallow pan (a half sheet pan is ideal) big enough to hold the chicken pieces in a single layer with room to spare. Arrange the chicken over them, skin side up. Sprinkle the pieces with all the remaining ingredients except broth. Roast 20 minutes, baste the chicken with the pan juices and turn the heat down to 350 degrees.

Roast another 45 minutes to an hour, basting often. Add a few tablespoons of vinegar if pan juices threaten to burn. Also use a flat wood spatula to scrape up any sticky brown glaze in the pan and spread it over the roasting chicken. You want the pan juices to be filming the pan, not burning, yet not so plentiful that the chicken is steaming instead of roasting.

Check for doneness by inserting an instant reading thermometer into the thickest part of the chicken breast. When it reads 165, the chicken is ready. Roast another 15 minutes if necessary. If chicken needs browning, put it under the broiler 3 to 4 minutes. Rest chicken 10 minutes at room temperature as you make the pan sauce.

Put the roasting pan over 2 stove burners and turn them to medium-high. Immediately pour in the broth and with a wood spatula, scrape up all the brown glaze in the pan as the broth boils. You want an intense tasting, tart-rich sauce that is syrupy in consistency -- just enough to lightly moisten the bird. Scrape it over the chicken and serve hot.