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[quote=Anonymous]Thanks for sharing your experience, OP.  Hang in there.

I agree with the PP, I'd take the second chicken out of the bag and just roast it normal in a pan.  If it's possible, you could ditch whatever seasoning mix they have in that bag and just do it the regular way.

Here's one simple method:

1.  Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees.  Make sure a rack is in the middle that has enough room above it for your roasting pan and your chicken.

2.  Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and throw the paper towels away.  (No need to rinse the chicken -- whatever's on it is going to die in the cooking process.  The cross-contamination from spray in your sink is a bigger negative than whatever microbes you would be able to rinse off.)  (If you were starting with a regular grocery-store chicken, you'd reach into the chicken's cavity and remove the bag full of giblets that's stored in there.  I assume your chicken-in-a-bag doesn't have this.  But it's an important step not to omit.)

3.  In a small bowl, with a spoon or your fingers, mix together 4 tsps of soft room-temperature butter, 1 tsp. of salt, and 1 tsp. of black pepper, to form a paste.

Optional: if you have them, you can also mix in some chopped garlic (2 or 3 cloves, or 1 tsp. from a jar); and some herbs: sage, thyme, and rosemary.  If you're using dried herbs, 1 tsp. ea of sage and rosemary, and 1/2 tsp. thyme.  Or similar proportions of fresh herbs, but 1/2 as much thyme as the other two.  Mix this stuff into your paste, adding more butter if necessary to keep it paste-like.  Keep in mind the garlic-and/or-herb step is strictly optional.  If you don't have them, don't worry.

4.  Get 5 carrots and 5 celery stalks.  Wash them, cut the ends off, and peel the carrots.  Peel a medium-to-large yellow onion and cut off the two ends.  With the onion on its side (the ends pointing out to the sides), slice the onion vertically into 1/2 inch slices.  The slices will break apart into onion rings 1/2" thick.

5.  Set aside one carrot, one celery stalk, and a few of the small-size onion rings.  Scatter the rest of the carrots, celery, and onion rings in the bottom of the pan you're going to roast in.  It can be anything strong enough to hold the chicken -- a roasting pan, a cast-iron skillet, a rectangular baking dish, or any other heavy oven-safe pot bit enough for the chicken.

6.  Cut your spare carrot and celery stalk into halves or thirds.  Stick them and the small onion rings into the cavity of the chicken.

7.  Put the chicken into your roasting pan, breast side up, on top of the scattered carrots, celery and onions.  (The purpose of the carrots, celery and onions is to keep your chicken off the bottom of the pan.  They're an easy edible substitute for a roasting rack, which you probably don't have.  At the end, they're going to be soft and cooked in chicken juices, good for scattering on the plate around your chicken.)

8.  Using your hands, rub the butter/salt/pepper/optional-garlic-and-or-herbs paste all over the outside of the chicken.  Leave no part unsmeared.  (Later, when you're more experienced, you can smear this stuff under the skin, but as a beginner, just do it on the outside.)

9.  Roast in your 350 oven for about an hour.  You shouldn't need to baste.  Keep an eye on it -- if the skin gets too crispy and starts to burn, cover it with a tent made of aluminum foil.  You make this by tearing off two large squares of foil, putting them on top of one another, and then folding one edge of both of them over twice.  Now open them, and that folded-over edge should join them in the middle to form a large rectangle.  Stick the rectangle in the oven over your chicken, using that folded-over seam as the top middle seam of the tent.

10.  It should be done in an hour or so.  The best way to check for doneness is with a meat thermometer, stuck into the deep part of the thigh but not touching the bone.  165 is done.  If you don't have a meat thermometer, you can pierce one of the thighs deeply with a sharp knife, near the bottom of the chicken.  The juices should run clear.  If they don't, back in the oven for another 5 minutes, and repeat.

11.  Remove to a cutting board, cover with the aluminum foil tent, and let it rest at least 15 minutes before carving.  Fish the carrots and celery sticks from the pan (and any onion pieces that survived), and serve alongside the chicken.

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