Roast Chicken Recipe
Perfectly golden roast chicken slathered with a delicious herb garlic butter for an unbelievable flavor! This chicken is juicy, tender, with an incredible flavor!
Equipment
- Kitchen twine
Ingredients
- 3-4 lb (1.5-2kg) whole chicken
- salt and pepper
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- ½ yellow onion quartered
- ½ lemon cut into wedges
For the herb butter
- ½ cup (100g) unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon parsley chopped
- 1 sprig rosemary chopped
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Take the chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes prior to cooking.
- Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C) standard oven, or 430°F (220°C) convection/fan oven.
To make the herb butter
- In a small bowl or jug, melt the butter. Mix in olive oil, garlic, parsley, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
For the chicken
- Pat the chicken dry with paper towels.
- Place the chicken in a roasting pan and season with salt and pepper from all sides. Pour the herb butter all over the chicken, and with a brush spread it evenly all over the chicken.
- Stuff the cavity with the quartered onion, rosemary sprigs, and lemon wedges.
- Truss the chicken legs with kitchen twine, season with salt and pepper again, and transfer to the oven.
- Roast for 15 minutes at 450°F (230°C) standard oven, or 430°F (220°C) convection/fan oven.
- Lower the heat to 400°F (200°C) standard oven, or 380°F (190°C) convection/fan oven. And roast for 45 minutes (this changes depending on the size of your chicken). Baste twice starting at 30-40 minutes by spooning some pan juices over the chicken.
- Check the internal temperature of the chicken, when it reaches 165°F (74°C) at the thickest part of the thigh, the chicken is ready. Remove from the oven.
- Allow the chicken to rest for 15-20 minutes uncovered before carving and serving.
Video
Notes
- A 3-4 pound whole chicken will serve 3-4 people.
- If you have time, I recommend that you brine the chicken first. It will make your chicken juicier and will season the meat very well. I have an easy chicken brine recipe that you can use! Brining is not a must, but recommended for best results.
- If you forgot to take the chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes prior to cooking, just add 10 minutes to the total cooking time.
- Remove the bag of giblets from the cavity of the chicken, if you can't find them then it's worth checking the neck cavity. If your chicken comes with giblets, you can use them to make stock or gravy, or discard them.
- When you pat the chicken dry with paper towels, do it inside the cavity as well. The idea is to get the chicken as dry as possible for the best results.
- Before stuffing the cavity, I like to season it generously with salt and pepper, and even pour some herb butter inside it for maximum flavor.
- For a complete meal, prep some root vegetables (rutabaga, turnips, carrots, onion, leeks, etc), season them, drizzle with oil, and place them in the pan. Let the chicken rest on top of the vegetables as it's being roasted.
- Roast the chicken in a roasting pan breast side up. I like to use this cast iron pan (that you see in my pictures) as it cooks the chicken very evenly.
- I usually baste the chicken twice as it's being roasted (starting after 40 minutes), this ensures that the garlic does not burn, and it also adds flavor since the butter and pan juices are very flavorful.
- By the time the chicken is cooked, it should be golden and crispy. If needed, place until the broiler for a few minutes to crisp the skin up even more. But watch it carefully like a hawk.
- Carve the chicken and slice into pieces, check out my guide for the carving technique. And pick any remaining meat off the bones to use in other recipes.
- Storing: the leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container. Or frozen in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
- Use the carcass to make a delicious chicken broth and use it to make chicken noodle soup!
Nutrition
Calories: 465kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 38g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Cholesterol: 237mg | Sodium: 190mg | Potassium: 500mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 771IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 2mg
Find it online: https://littlesunnykitchen.com/roast-chicken/