This Roast chicken is infused with lemon garlic and herb butter. It is unbelievably crispy from the outside and juicy from the inside! You will love this easy and simple to prepare whole-roast chicken recipe! It easily feeds up to 4 people and is a perfect alternative for making a small Thanksgiving meal. If you don't really care for roast turkey but still want to make festive dinner, this roasted chicken dinner will be perfect!
I included 2 different herb butter options for you to switch around. See Recipe Card!
Roasted chicken is one of those classic comfort foods that no one can resist. It is perfect for a relaxing Weekend dinner at home and impressive enough for company. It takes as little as 10 minutes to prep, the rest will be done in the oven. Imagine the aroma coming from your oven as the chicken slowly roasts!
Roasting your own chicken is super easy, it is more economical, and so much juicier than buying a rotisserie chicken from the market which is most of the time really dry from sitting in the heated glass case. Once you roasted a chicken at home, you will see how much better it tastes. While this chicken recipe is a little fancier by rubbing the herb butter mix under the skin and on top. You can definitely keep it more simple by using olive oil instead of the butter or by just adding some butter droplets on top along with the herbs and seasoning.
- Salt, pepper, garlic: The necessities! Here you can use what you have, either a coarse mix or a finer ground salt and pepper mix. All chicken recipes should have some garlic. It makes all the differnce!
- Citrus fruit: I love the bright flavor that the lemon rind adds, other ideas are finely grated orange or a mix of both. Also if you want to make a roasted chicken without the butter, but using olive oil, try to use fresh lemon and or orange slices on top of the seasoned chicken.
- Herbs: For this recipe I made a Rosemary, Garlic Lemon Butter mix, but you can use other herbs like thyme, oregano, parsley or tarragon to mix it up sometimes.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH ROAST CHICKEN
Almost everything goes well with roast chicken! Simple roasted potatoes, buttered green beans, steamed or oven-roasted vegetables, a beautiful salad, even some warm crusty bread are all great choices.
HOW LONG TO ROAST A CHICKEN AT 350ΒΊF
- 2 Β½ - 3 pound chicken: Roast for 1 to 1 ΒΌ hours.
- 3 Β½ - 4 pound chicken: Roast 1 ΒΌ to 1 Β½ hours.
- 4 Β½ to 5 pound chicken: Roast 1 ΒΎ to 2 hours.
Generally speaking, a whole chicken needs to cook at 350 ΒΊF for 20 minutes per pound. Use the above guideline for the weight and time to cook, however, keep in mind that the cooking time will increase as the size of your chicken increases. The easiest way to tell when your roasted chicken is done is to use an electronic probe thermometer. Insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the meat, when it reads 165 degrees F your chicken is done. Pull it out of the oven and let it rest for about 5 minutes to collect all the juices.
HOW TO PREPARE A WHOLE CHICKEN BEFORE ROASTNG
To prepare a chicken for roasting, you will need to remove the giblet bag if there is one stuffed into the chicken cavity. The next step is to season your chicken from all sides. Then fill your chicken cavity with aromatics like onion, garlic, lemon, and herbs. No need to tie the legs together. This allows the chicken to brown evenly. Roast your chicken uncovered for the given amount of time to allow the chicken to get crispy on top and to become golden brown. My roast chicken is tender and juicy and it comes out perfect every time!
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Recipe
Roast Chicken with Lemon Garlic and Herb Butter
Ingredients
Chicken:
- 4 lbs whole chicken
- 2 lemons halved or quartered (to fill the cavity of chicken) A Mandarin is nice too.
- Β½ teaspoon sprinkle a little salt and pepper
Lemon Garlic Rosemary Butter: (Option 1)
- 6 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
- Β½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon peppercorn mix, or regular ground pepper
- 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely minced (use only 1 Β½ teaspoons if using dry rosemary)
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest (about half a lemon)
Garlic Herb Butter: (Option 2)
- 6 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
- Β½ tsp sea salt
- 1 teaspoon peppercorn mix, or regular ground pepper
- 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 2 teaspoon fresh rosemary, finely minced (use only 1 Β½ teaspoons if using dry rosemary)
- 2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, finely minced (use only 1 Β½ teaspoons if using dry thyme)
- 1 tablespoon parsley, finely minced (use only 1 Β½ teaspoons if using dry parsley)
- Β½ cup white wine (Chardonnay, Moscato, or Sauv Blanc)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 Β°F (220 Β°F)1. Place salt, pepper, garlic, herbs in a small bowl. If you are using whole peppercorns crush them in a mortar with a pestle. Then add your softened butter, some lemon zest, and mix thoroughly.2. Discard neck and giblets that may be inside the chicken cavity. Remove any excess fat and leftover feathers if any. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Stuff the chicken cavity with lemon, and/or mandarin orange, or some quartered onion pieces.3. Loosen slightly the skin of the top part chicken where the breast is. Rub some of the herb butter underneath the skin, then smear the rest of the butter mix on top and all around the chicken with the most part on the top.4. Place the chicken breast side up in a roasting pan or a baking sheet. Cook uncovered on 425 Β°F (220 Β°F) for approximately 30 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 Β°F (180 Β°C) for another 45 minutes, or more (basting 2-3 times the pan juices over the top), or until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 165 degrees F (70 Β°C).Cooking time will depend on how much your chicken weighs, see chart below. 2 Β½ - 3 pound chicken: Roast for 1 to 1 ΒΌ hours.3 Β½ - 4 pound chicken: Roast 1 ΒΌ to 1 Β½ hours.4 Β½ to 5 pound chicken: Roast 1 ΒΎ to 2 hours.Let the chicken rest 5 to 10 minutes before carving. Serve with drizzled pan juices and some fresh lemon wedges or slices.
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