If you have 24 hours, salt the chicken and place it on a rack to dry out overnight. Thoroughly pat the chicken dry with paper towels before cooking. If available, use an air-dried chicken for better skin texture.
2
Arrange sliced onion, carrots, and celery on the bottom of a large frypan to create a vegetable bed for the chicken.
3
Remove any giblets from the chicken cavity. Season the inside with salt and cracked black pepper. Stuff the cavity with lemon wedges, garlic cloves, rosemary sprigs, and a sprig of thyme, filling it as generously as possible.
4
Tie the chicken legs together with kitchen twine, binding them snugly to the body to keep them close during cooking and ensure even heat distribution.
5
Remove the wings from the chicken and set them aside to cook separately in the pan for better control over cooking time.
6
In a small bowl, combine salt, Hungarian paprika, a small amount of hot sauce, and garlic olive oil to create a seasoning paste.
7
Use a brush to coat the exterior of the chicken with the paprika mixture, ensuring even coverage for color and flavor.
8
Heat olive oil in the frypan and place the chicken in it, starting with the leg side down to begin browning first, since the legs take longer to cook than the breast.
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