2tablespoonsunsalted buttercut into 2 pieces and chilled
salt and ground pepper
Instructions
Brine
Combine 2 quarts of water with sugar and salt and submerge the chicken. Cover and refrigerate. Brine for a minimum of one hour, or up to 24 hours.
Compound Butter
Mix the thyme, lemon zest, and 1/8 teaspoon of pepper with the softened butter. Set aside. (I kept mine in the refrigerator as I brined my chicken all day. I removed the butter an hour before I removed the chicken from the brine.)
Adjust oven rack to the lower middle position, place roasting pan on the rack, and preheat the oven to 400 F. Coat a V-rack with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. Remove the chicken from the brine, rinse well, and pat dry with paper towels.
Use your fingers to gently loosen the center portion of the skin covering each side of the breast. Use a spoon to place half of the butter mixture under the skin of one breast, placing the butter directly on the meat in the center of the breast. Do the same on the other side with the remaining butter. Gently press onto the skin to distribute the butter evenly over the meat.
Rub the skin of the chicken with the oil, season with pepper, and place the chicken on its side (so that the wing is facing upward) onto the prepared V-rack. Place the V-rack into the preheated roasting pan and roast for 15 minutes.
Remove roasting pan from oven, and using 2 large wads of paper towels, rotate the chicken so that the opposite side is facing up. Return to the oven for another 15 minutes.
Using the 2 large wads of paper towels, rotate chicken so that the breasts are facing up. Add the chicken broth to the roasting pan and continue to roast until breast registers 160-165 or thigh registers 170-175 on an instant read thermometer (about 25-35 more minutes). Tip the chicken to let the juices flow from the cavity into the roasting pan, then transfer chicken to a cutting board and let it rest while you make the jus.
Au Jus
Use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits off the bottom of the roasting pan. Pour cooking juices into a fat separator and set aside to settle, about 3 minutes. If you don't have a fat separator, skim the fat off the top with a spoon. Pour juices into a medium saucepan, stir in the broth, vermouth, bay leaves, shallots, and thyme. Simmer over medium-high heat until the liquid has reduced to about 1 cup, about 10 minutes. Strain the sauce and return it to the saucepan, discard the solids. Off the heat, whisk in the lemon juice* (see my note #2) and butter. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm with carved chicken.