1. Place a rack in the middle of the oven. Set the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and let it heat up. In the meantime, a small roasting pan or baking sheet should be lightly oiled.
2. Cut off and discard the neck and giblets from the whole chicken, then rinse and pat it thoroughly dry.
3. Rub salt into the neck and body cavities, also apply some to the skin.
4. Place the chicken breasts in the pan, with the breast side facing up. Melted butter should then be brushed over the breast and legs.
5. Place the prepared chicken in the preheated oven and roast properly. The cooking period should last 1 hour for the first 4 pounds, and about 8 minutes extra for each additional pound.
6. If you would prefer the chicken breast to be moist, the bird is done when the thickest section of the thigh sheds clear juices when poked deeply with a fork. Also, at this point, an instant-read meat thermometer should read 170° to 175°F.
7. Roast until the thigh registers 180°F if you want the dark-colored meat sliding off the bone and don’t exactly mind having a dry chicken breast.
8. Allow the chicken to rest for 10 to 15 minutes on a tray.
9. Carve the meat and serve.

The entire cooking duration for this recipe is 1 hour and 20 minutes, but this will differ based on the size of your chicken. If you’re interested in more recipe ideas and variations you could try, you can watch this video recipe to see more ways to cook a whole chicken.