Instructions: Heat the oven to 425 degrees.

To assure even cooking, remove the chicken from the refrigerator, and let it stand at room temperature for half an hour. If the chicken comes with a plastic pop-up thermometer, discard it; the readings are often inaccurate. After rinsing the chicken inside and out with cold running water, dry with paper towels. Tuck the tips of the wings under the bottom to keep them from burning.

Place slices of two medium onions in two rows in a heavy-duty roasting pan to form a bed for the chicken. The onions will flavor the chicken and the pan juices that form the base of the gravy. Put garlic cloves, sprigs of thyme, and lemon inside the chickens cavity. To help release the lemons essence, roll it back and forth with the palm of your hand pressing on top, and then pierce the surface all over with a fork. Set the chicken on the bed of onion slices, breast-side up. Then bring legs forward, cross them, and tie them together with about 18 inches of kitchen twine. Tying the legs is much simpler than trussing the bird, which requires tying the body. Spread butter over the entire exposed surface of the chicken, which ensures even browning. Sprinkle well with salt and freshly ground pepper.

Place the chicken in the oven; in about an hour and a half, the skin should be crisp and a deep golden-brown color, and the juices should run clear when the chicken is pierced. Check the internal temperature of the breasts and the thighs with an instant-read thermometer. When ready, the reading in the deepest part of the breast should be 180 degrees, and in the deepest part of the thigh it should be 190 degrees. When the chicken is finished cooking, remove it from the pan and transfer it to a cutting board with a well to catch the juices. Let the chicken stand at room temperature for up to 20 minutes. The juices, which rise to the surface when cooking, will settle and redistribute evenly throughout the chicken. While it rests, make Pan Gravy (see recipe).

Untie the legs of the chicken. Remove the lemon, garlic, and herbs from the cavity of the chicken, and discard. Place the chicken on a serving platter breast-side up, and, using a sharp knife, carve the bird: Use a large fork to pull one of the legs away from the body. With the tip of your knife, find the joint that connects the leg to the body, and sever it. Cut the thigh away from the drumstick at the second joint. To remove the breasts, cut straight down between the breasts, following the contour of the rib cage, until you hit the wishbone. Cut through the joint where it meets the breastbone. Serve the individual pieces, or cut the breast into thin slices for a more elegant presentation.

Serves 4.

If you would like to email yourself the recipe for later use, or share the recipe with your friends or family, enter the email addresses below and this recipe will be emailed to you and others as well.