More than the sum of its juicy meat and crispy skin, a good roast chicken is all about those luscious pan juices. Whether you choose to roast the bird yourself or pick up a grocery store’s rotisserie chicken, these juices — golden, sticky, salty — inspire sauces, soups and rice bowls, and provide an excuse to mop your plate with a hunk of sourdough bread.

As we march into spring, I cherish unfussy recipes that look after themselves. As the ingredients work their magic in the oven, I can focus on the changing seasons — cleaning, organizing, and eventually prepping the garden. It makes sense to roast two birds at once. The first for dinner and lunch the next day; the second to use for three or more entirely different meals down the road.

Over the years, I’ve roasted many chickens many different ways. Every cookbook offers a different method, each claiming to be the best: start the bird in a hot oven upside down; poach it first before roasting; use low, low heat for a long, long time (3 to 4 hours). But the method I rely on now sticks to the basics.

First, choose a good chicken (organic and free range), then salt and pepper it inside and out and set it in the refrigerator to brine overnight. This draws up moisture, adds taste, and helps ensure crisp skin. Bring the chicken to room temperature before roasting. Rub it all over with lots of butter (it is about the butter). Set the chicken in the pan with several cloves of garlic and potatoes, the essential accompaniment — they’ll emerge wrinkled and richly seasoned.

Whether or not to baste remains up for debate. With enough butter, there is truly no need, but basting occasionally helps keep the meat succulent, the skin crackly brown. A few lemon slices over the breast makes a nice touch. Be sure to allow the chicken to rest for about 10 minutes before carving so the juices retreat into the meat.

Let’s agree that a good rotisserie chicken is a fine option when long on hunger and short on time. Why not pick up two? The small amount of pan juices that collect on the bottom of the package are dark, thick, gooey and worth saving. Set the chicken in a roasting pan, add the pan juices, and top it with a few lemon slices before rewarming in a moderate oven. I’ve served this at a dinner party without admitting that I hadn’t roasted the bird myself. No one complained.

That second roast chicken provides the basics for dinners the rest of the week; all you need are a few key pantry staples and little imagination. Here are three ideas:

Rice Bowl

In a heavy pot, heat 2 to 3 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil over high heat, add ¼ cup chopped onion, ¼ cup chopped parsley, ¼ cup diced yellow peppers, 1 cup cherry tomatoes, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook until the tomatoes are blistered and shriveled and the peppers have softened, about 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in any remaining pan juices and 1 cup chicken stock or more as needed, 1 cup shredded chicken meat, and season with 1 to 2 teaspoons za’atar seasoning and 1 to 2 tablespoons lemon juice, to taste. Stir in 2 cups cooked white rice. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Tostadas

For each tostada, pile ¼ cup shredded meat onto a deep-fried tortilla, add ¼ cup sliced red peppers and ¼ cup shredded queso fresco or mozzarella. Drizzle on any remaining pan juices and run the tostada under the broiler until the cheese is melty, about 2 to 4 minutes. Serve garnished with plenty of chopped cilantro; add a few lime wedges on the side.

Chicken stock

Save the bones from your chicken, put them into a pot, add enough cold water to cover by 1 inch, add half an onion, 1 carrot, 1 stalk celery, 1 bay leaf and any remaining pan juices. Set the pot over high heat, bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the stock is reduced and tasty, about 3 hours.

Remove and discard the bones and vegetables. Strain, and transfer to a covered container. Cool, cover and store in the refrigerator for up to a week or freeze.

Roast Chicken

Makes one roast chicken for 4 to 6 people.

This meal will keep on giving for the next day or two. Why not roast two chickens while you’re at it? Be sure to roast potatoes alongside for a one-pot meal. The secret? Butter, and lots of it! From Beth Dooley.

1 large chicken (about 3 to 5 lb.)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

6 tbsp. unsalted butter

1 lb. Yukon Gold or red potatoes, cut into ½-in. pieces

5 to 6 cloves garlic

3 to 4 lemon slices

Remove and discard the bag with chicken parts. Season the chicken inside and out with lots of coarse salt and freshly ground pepper. Set on a plate and refrigerate uncovered overnight. Bring the chicken to room temperature before roasting.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Set the chicken, breast side up, in a roasting pan surround it with the potatoes and garlic. Rub the chicken with the butter, tucking some of it up under the breast skin.

Roast undisturbed for half an hour. Reduce the temperature to 375 degrees; lay the lemon slices on the chicken breast and continue roasting, occasionally basting with the pan juices, until the thigh juices run clear when poked and a digital thermometer registers 165 degrees when inserted into the thickest part of the thigh. Allow the chicken to rest for about 15 minutes before serving with the potatoes and plenty of pan juices.

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Beth Dooley is the author of “The Perennial Kitchen.” Find her at bethdooleyskitchen.com.

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