Whole Roast Chicken
I know I am not alone in my fear of touching/preparing/handling raw chicken, and this fear kept me from preparing my own bird for YEARS! I have finally conquered this fear, and thank goodness I have because whole-roasted chicken is DELICIOUS!
My fiance is a BIG fan of lemon chicken. Well, a big fan of lemon anything really, hence my last recipe. His mom makes some of the best chicken dishes I've ever had, so before we get married I wanted to get over my fear of raw chicken, and make some of the best dang chicken he's ever had! I must pat myself on the back for this one.
Not only is whole roasting a chicken absolutely delicious, it is cost-effective, and can turn into 2-3 meals depending on the size of the bird. We usually serve our chicken with orzo or couscous, salad, or veggies. It's hearty, and leftovers can be had the next day. They are great to make on a Sunday evening!
So, here's my super basic, super simple whole roast chicken method. I hope you find this helpful, as I was COMPLETELY clueless until a just months ago. ENJOY! :)
Ingredients
- 1 free-range, organic chicken
- 1 lemon
- 1 white or brown onion
- 2 tablespoons butter (cut into small cubes)
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon dried rosemary
- Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425F.
- Remove the chicken from the packaging and rinse the chicken under cool water. Place on a cutting board and pat dry with a paper towel. You want to dry the top and insides as well as possible.
- Place the chicken into a glass baking dish. Make sure the chicken can fit inside and I'd recommend using a deeper dish with a lip to prevent juices from spilling into your oven.
- Slice your onion and lemon into large chunks. I typically cut both into quarters. Squeeze the lemon over the top of the chicken and place the onion and lemon pieces into the chicken cavity. Try to get the pieces are far into the cavity as possible.
- Take your butter cubes and rub over the top of the chicken, including the legs. This helps ensure the skin is crispy. I also sometimes try to separate the skin from the meat and stick butter between those layers as well.
- Rub your salt and herbs over the top of the bird and some inside.
- Bake the chicken for 40-50 minutes until the breast meat has reached 165 degrees (highly recommend investing in a meat thermometer!).
