Roast Chicken Recipe

Roast Chicken slathered with a garlic-herb-lemon butter then oven roasted to golden crispy perfection.

Juicy on the within, and served with liquid gold pan juices loaded with flavour, that is THE Roast Chicken recipe you’ll make over and over!

….. juicy on the within and crispy on the surface with golden pores and skin that’s buttery and herby and garlicky with only a delicate fragrance of lemon to remind you it’s there with out overwhelming.

It creates its personal pan juices that’s used because the sauce for the chicken. These things is liquid gold!

That is the chicken model of the Herb and Garlic Butter Roasted Turkey Breast I shared for Christmas / Thanksgiving final 12 months. I’ve misplaced depend of what number of messages there have been asking for a chicken model – and I’m lastly sharing it!

The greatest roast chicken has garlic herb butter below and on the pores and skin, is full of lemon and herbs, roasted till it’s crispy and deep golden on the surface, and juicy on the within.

It’s very easy to organize an entire chicken for roasting. The trick is to make use of an the other way up dessert spoon to loosen the pores and skin – the form hugs the curves of the chicken and it doesn’t tear the pores and skin.

Then merely spoon the garlic-herb-butter below the pores and skin then unfold it from the surface. OR maintain it upright and drizzle in (see images beneath) – no matter you discover simpler!

TIP: Use a lot of the butter below the pores and skin, that’s the place you get probably the most bang to your buck. Plus, garlic burns on the pores and skin so that you don’t need an excessive amount of on the floor.

After the chicken is all buttered up, place it on a mattress of garlic and onion. This serves two functions:

1. Elevates the chicken off the bottom of the pan for extra even cooking (in any other case the underside sits within the pan juices and can prepare dinner sooner); and

2. Provides further flavour into the pan juices used because the sauce for this recipe. OR used for gravy!

I prefer to stuff the chicken with a wedges of lemon and a few sprigs of rosemary. Not a lot for the flavour, as a result of in reality, you may simply barely style it. It’s extra for the fragrance you get once you minimize into the chicken so it appears like you may style it.

And that is the explanation why I don’t put garlic inside oven roasted chicken. There’s no level – it doesn’t get scorching sufficient to make any distinction to flavour and simply steams.

Flavour bomb set, now it’s time for the simple half – roasting.

OK OK, maintain the tantrum! It’s all good! I’ve the gravy recipe within the notes.😇

However actually, give the liquid gold a go one in all nowadays…. It’s loopy good! I imply, it’s garlic butter. Infused with herb flavours and a touch of lemon. Mingling with roasted chicken juices.

Extra entire chicken recipes

What to do with leftovers?

Use it to make epic Bread Bowl Sandwich, Chicken Pasta Salad, Chinese language Chicken Salad or toss it right into a Frittata or Omelette! salad

Generally it helps to have a visible – so watch me make this Roast Chicken recipe!

Roast Chicken recipe initially revealed Could 2016, improved Could 2018. Up to date for housekeeping issues January 2019, no change to recipe. It’s good as is! 🙂

Roast Chicken Recipe

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Serves: 5 Prep Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 1 hour 1 hour

Nutrition facts: 505 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

Ingredients

• 1.75 – 2 kg / 3.5 – 4lb whole chicken , patted dry
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 lemon, quartered
• 3 rosemary sprigs
• 100 g / 1 stick unsalted butter , melted
• 3 garlic cloves , minced
• 1 tbsp sage , finely chopped (Note 1)
• 2 tsp rosemary , finely chopped (Note 1)
• 1 tbsp parsley , finely chopped (Note 1)
• 1/2 tsp each salt and black pepper
• 1 cup / 250 ml dry white wine , or low sodium chicken broth
• 1 onion , quartered (Note 2)
• 1 garlic bulb , halved horizontally (Note 2)

Instructions

1. Take the chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking.
2. Preheat oven to 220C/450F (standard) or 200C/430F (fan/convection). Put shelf in the middle.
3. Mix together Butter ingredients. Add juice from 2 wedges of lemon.
4. Place chicken in a roasting pan. Use a dessert spoon to loosen skin from chicken (see video). Do the top (the breast) and the drumsticks – not the underside.
5. Prop chicken upright, drizzle butter under skin, using most of the garlic/herb sludge, but saving a bit of butter for the skin (Note 3).
6. Drizzle / smear remaining butter all over surface of the chicken. Squeeze over juice of 2 lemon wedges.
7. Stuff used lemon wedges and rosemary inside chicken.
8. Tie drumstick ends with string and tuck wing tips under the chicken.
9. Sprinkle all over with salt and pepper.
10. Place onion and garlic in the pan, place chicken on top. Pour wine around, drizzle chicken with oil.
11. Transfer to oven. Roast for 10 minutes, then turn oven down to 180C/350F (all oven types). Roast for a further 1 hr 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature is 75C/165F or until juices run clear when pierced at the join between the drumstick and the body. Baste twice (30 min then at 1 hr), spooning pan juices over skin.
12. Rest for 15 minutes – don’t cover, skin becomes wet.
13. Serve with pan juices (see video for how to carve). I discard onion but use the garlic in the pan. See notes for side suggestions & how to use carcass for incredible homemade broth!

Notes

1. Herbs – Rosemary and sage are classic pairings with chicken, parsley adds more green specks in the butter and a tiny touch of freshness. Feel free to use herbs of choice. Go easy with more rosemary – it’s a strong herb.
Can also sub with 2 – 3 tsp of dried herbs of choice (use 2 tsp of strong flavoured dried herbs like thyme, oregano, sage, mixed herbs, tarragon or 3 tsp of light flavoured dried herbs like dill, parsley, dill)
2. Onion and garlic: These serve 2 purposes: elevate chicken out of liquid a bit and they add tons of flavour into the pan juices used as the sauce. I don’t bother peeling the onion because I usually discard it – because it sits under the chicken, it gets slimy and very oily. Feel free to use peeled onion and eat it.
3. Garlic-herb-butter: Get most of the garlic-herb sludge under the skin because if it’s on the surface of the skin, the garlic burns. So minimise the garlic sludge on the skin.
4. GRAVY option: 50 g / 3 tbsp butter 3 tbsp / 40 g flour (any white)2 cups / 500 ml liquid from pan topped up with low sodium chicken broth
Melt butter over medium heat, add flour, stir for 1 minute. Add half the liquid while whisking. Once incorpoated and lump free, add remaining liquid. Continue cooking for 2 minutes, stirring regularly, until gravy thickens. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. COOK TIMES: 10 minutes at 220C/450F, then 20 minutes for every 500g/1lb at 180C/350F until the internal temperature is 75C/165F or until juices run clear. This assumes the chicken was taken out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking. If it’s fridge cold, add another 10 minutes to the cook time.
6. TYING DRUMSTICKS: I find it easiest to use one piece of string, wrap string around one leg, then yank the other leg closer and wrap string around that one to. Then once string is around both of them, it’s much easier to handle to use the string to pull then together then wrap the string around both of them tightly so they are crossed over each other.
7. CARCASS and leftover bits/juices: Scrape it all into a pot or slow cooker, add water so water is about 2.5cm / 1″ above chicken. Add 2 tsp Vegeta or chicken stock powder or 2 crumbled cubes, celery, carrot and a few garlic cloves (chunky pieces) and a few sprigs of fresh herbs like thyme/rosemary/parsley OR 1 tsp dried herbs. Simmer 1 hour  / slow cooker 6 hours, strain. Pick out/off bits of chicken to use in soup. Use as incredible broth for Chicken Noodle Soup or Chicken Rice Soup.
8. SIDES: Roast potatoes (cut, toss in olive oil, salt, pepper and herbs, roast under chicken for 40 minutes), mashed potato or cauliflower, or garlic bread. Also try Potatoes au Gratin or Easy Cheesy Potato Bake – can make ahead then reheat in oven quickly. 
Pictured on the very edge of photo in post is this Kale Quinoa Salad (I often have it on hand as it lasts for days and days). Other great salads: Corn Salad with Avocado and Tomato, Roast Pumpkin Spinach Salad, a garden salad with Italian or French Dressing.
9. Nutrition assumes 1.2kg / 2.4lb of meat, remainder is bones discarded. Also assumes all pan juices are consumed which they probably won’t be, also you lose some in the onion/garlic/discarded chicken.

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Sarah Miller

Hi, I’m Sarah Millar!
I’m a food blogger who loves creating quick and easy recipes that bring big flavor without the fuss. Cooking doesn’t have to be complicated — and I’m here to share simple, fast food ideas that anyone can make at home. When I’m not in the kitchen, you’ll usually find me tasting new dishes, exploring cafés, or coming up with fresh food hacks to make everyday meals more fun.

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