Step 1

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and place a rack in the middle position.

Step 2

Rinse the chicken and check the cavity for the neck and gizzards.  You may keep them in the cavity (be sure to remove any packaging) for added flavor to the bird or you can freeze them and use to make gravy.

Step 3

Dry the chicken with paper towels really well.

Step 4

Place a half of one lemon and a few thyme rosemary sprigs in the cavity and season the entire bird with salt and pepper and sprinkle with fresh thyme.  Rub the bird with duck fat, chicken fat, bacon fat, olive oil, or butter.

Step 5

Add carrots, onions, and rosemary or thyme to the rim of the bottom of the pan. Place the bird upside down (breast-side-down) in the cast iron skillet or heavy duty oven-safe ceramic pan.

Step 6

Because you are roasting the chicken at a higher temperature, it's going to bake faster than other roast chicken recipes. Check the temperature of the breast meat when the skin on the back of the chicken starts to caramelize. This is a good indicator the chicken is almost done.

Step 7

Option 1:If you don't mind your breast meat being white/blonde, you can bake the chicken upside down the entire time until it reaches 160-165 degrees Fahrenheit.  You'll be able to get lots of crispy skin from the back of the chicken.If you prefer option one you don't need to remove the vegetables from the pan at the end of the cooking time in the oven.

Step 8

Option 2:If you prefer to have a little color on the breast meat, you'll need to flip the chicken breast-side-up and finish baking for about 7-10 minutes under the broiler (with the broiler turned on) until the breast meat reaches 160-165 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove the vegetables and the pan juices to a plate before finishing cooking the chicken.  This will keep the skin crisp in the pan.  You'll want to flip the chicken over once it reaches 145-150 degrees Fahrenheit to give the breast meat enough time to caramelize under the broiler.  Do not walk away from the oven at this point!  Stand by to make sure the skin doesn't burn.

Step 9

Remove the chicken from the skillet and let it rest for at least 10-15 minutes before carving.