Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. It takes 30 to 40 minutes for the oven to reach 450 F, so use this time to prep the chicken.

2. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season it to taste on all sides and in the cavity. If you like a spice rub with your whole chicken, rub it in; if you like to make slits in the skin and stuff little pats of butter, herbs and garlic cloves in them, do that now, too.

3. Place the silicone roaster in a roasting pan and guide the spit into the chicken's cavity. If desired, place chopped vegetables under the chicken so the drippings flavor them as they cook.

4. Place the pan-and-roaster setup in the oven. You want the chicken in the center of the oven so it gets air flow on all sides, so you might have to move the oven rack to the lowest or next-to-lowest position to achieve clearance at the top.

5. Roast the chicken until the skin develops a golden-brown color, about 12 to 15 minutes, then drop the heat to 350 F.

6. Roast the chicken an additional 45 minutes, then slide the oven rack out. Check the internal temperature of a breast and thigh -- without touching a bone -- and make sure they measure at least 160 F.

7. Take the pan-and-roaster setup out of the oven when the chicken reaches 160 F. Lift the chicken off the roaster with tongs and place it on a plate to rest for 10 minutes, during which time the internal temperature will rise another 5 degrees.

8. Take the vegetables out of the pan, if using, and arrange them on the serving plate, and make gravy with the pan drippings, if desired. Serve the chicken as soon as it finishes resting.