For novice cooks, roasting a chicken can feel like a daunting culinary feat. But put your fears away. Merrill Stubbs – co-founder of recipe mecca Food52 – is here to guarantee you pull it off without a hitch. All it takes? Six ingredients, a heavy roasting or cast iron pan, and a hint of patience. If you can swing that, The Best Roast Chicken will be golden brown and ready for carving before you know it.

Stubbs says, ”Don’t open the door for at least 45 minutes, when you can start to test it for doneness. (The chicken is cooked when you pierce the thickest part of the thigh with a sharp knife, and the juices run clear.) Let the chicken rest on a carving board while you make the pan sauce.”

Trust yourself. When the juices run clear, pull the chicken out of the oven. The alternative is a dry dish, unsalvageable by even the tastiest of gravies. Once your bird is ready for plating, watch Food52?s video tutorial, “How to Carve a Chicken.”

Then visit our Sunday Supper: Roasting Essentials Boutique on Sunday, April 6, at 3PM ET.

By Julia Ivins, Staff Writer

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Merrill Stubbs graduated from Brown and Le Cordon Bleu. She went on to work at Cook’s Illustrated and behind the counter at Flour Bakery in Boston’s South End. In addition to her work with Amanda Hesser on The Essential New York Times Cookbook, Merrill has written for the Times’s T Living, Edible Brooklyn, and Body+Soul, and she was the food editor at Herb Quarterly. She lives with her family in Brooklyn.