Follow my method for garlic herb-butter roasted chicken and get roasted chicken with rich-brown crispy skin, tender juicy meat with great flavor every time.
1teaspoonlemon zestonce zested reserve ½ the lemon to put inside the cavity of the chicken
1 ½tablespoonslemon juicefresh
Kosher saltto taste
fresh cracked black pepperto taste
Instructions
Arrange a rack in the center of the oven, and preheat to 375 degrees F set for convection baking if you have it (see notes). Line the bottom of a roasting pan with aluminum foil. Set aside.
Prepare the Garlic Herb-Butter
Mince four (4) of the seven (7) garlic cloves. In a small pot over low heat, mix the minced garlic with the butter, herbs, onion powder and the lemon juice and zest. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Prepare the Chicken for Roasting
Remove the neck bone and giblets from inside of the chicken's cavity. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Place the chicken, breast side up on a rack inside a shallow roasting pan, or a deep baking pan.
Salt to the inside of the cavity wall. Smash the three (3) remaining garlic cloves with the side of a chef's knife to release their natural oils and flavor. Then fill the cavity of the chicken with wit them, ½ a lemon and sprigs of rosemary.
Brush the chicken with the garlic herb-butter. Tie the legs together with butcher's twine. Tuck the wings under the body, if desired. Insert the temperature probe of the cooking thermometer into the thickest part of the chicken (usually the breast area), if using.
Roast the Garlic Herb-Butter Chicken
Place the roasting pan in the center of the oven and bake for one hour. After an hour, use an instant-read thermometer to check the temperature if you are not using a cooking thermometer with probe. At this point, the internal temperature should be hovering around 150 degrees. Brush the chicken in its own juices from the bottom of the pan. Return the chicken to the oven and continue to roast. Tent the chicken with foil it begins to over-brown.
Continue to roast the chicken and baste every thirty minutes until the internal temperature of chicken reaches at least 165 degrees F; about 2 hours.
Remove the chicken from oven and baste one last time. Let the roasted chicken rest for at least 15 to 20 minutes before carving.
Notes
What Chicken Do I Buy? I like to buy broiler chickens to roast. They are larger and you get more from them. However, broilers, fryers, and roasters can be used interchangeably. Buy whatever suits your needs based on size. The general rule of thumb is about half a pound per person.Oven Setting: Roast the chicken using the convection setting on your oven, if you have it. I always use convection when roasting chicken. The chicken will cook more evenly and the skin while brown up and become perfectly crispy.No Roasting Pan? No Problem! If you do not have a roasting pan with a rack, you can do one of the following: Mold a large sheet of aluminum foil into a thick roll, then coil it up under the chicken on the bottom of a baking dish or shallow pan. OR place the chicken on top of sliced vegetables. The sliced vegetables will baste in the juices of the chicken. The vegetables can become a side dish making them the ideal solution for not having a rack. Yum!
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