Roast Chicken with Saffron Butter

Step 1: Mix melted butter with saffron in a small bowl.

Step 2: Warm chicken at room temperature for 30 minutes; remove giblets from cavity and reserve for another use; rinse chicken and pat dry.

Step 3: Place onion, rosemary, and lemon into the cavity and season with salt and pepper.

Step 4: Place chicken on a rack in a roasting pan and bind drumsticks together with kitchen twine.

Step 5: Brush chicken all over the outside and under exposed skin with saffron butter.

Step 6: Brush the entire chicken with the golden saffron butter, brushing under the skin

Step 7: Season with salt and pepper.

Step 8: Roast at 450F for 15 minutes, then reduce oven temp to 350F and continue roasting

Step 9: Until meat thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 170ºF, approximately 1 hour 20 minutes.

Step 10: If chicken starts to brown too quickly, loosely cover with aluminum foil.

Step 11: Allow chicken to rest for 10 minutes before carving.

Step 12: Skim all but about 2 tbsp. fat from pan juices; add a small minced shallot to the roasting pan and place over heat. Add a half cup dry white wine and cook stirring up the bits, until wine is almost all gone.

Step 13: Add a half cup chicken broth and cook until that evaporates as well, then add 2 tbsp. butter, stirring to incorporate, and then season to taste with salt and pepper.

Step 14: Serve pan juices with chicken.