How to roast a whole chicken in the ideal way with flavorful lemon and garlic With our simple recipe, the chicken maintains its juiciness and intensifies its flavor. Jump to the Whole Roasted Chicken Recipe.
Why I love this recipe:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 2. Remove giblets from the cavities of the chickens. 3. Rinse with cold water both inside and out, and then completely dry with paper towels. 4. If you don’t have a large roasting pan, place them breast-up in two smaller roasting pans. 5. Combine the softened butter, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and herbs in a small bowl. I loosen the chicken’s skin by running my fingers between the skin and the meat, then rub half of the butter mixture into the chicken’s skin and the other half on top of it. This keeps the chickens’ meat juicy and flavorful. The skin becomes crisp and nicely browned when herb butter is applied to it. 6. Put the lemons, oranges, and onions in the chickens’ cavities. 7. Depending on the size of the chickens, roast them at 400 degrees for about an hour and a half. I calculate the duration of this by dividing the average weight of one chicken (let’s say, 4 Calculate the weight in pounds (15 minutes per pound, or 67 minutes for a 4 5 lb chicken). Then I round up, so it’s roughly an hour and ten minutes for two fours. 5 lb chickens. 8. After cooking, let the chickens rest on the counter for about 15 minutes while covered in foil before carving.
This recipe comes to us from FDP team member Bri DeRosa, who first shared it on her Red, Round and Green blog. We always make two chickens when we have Sunday chicken — it seems like a lot, and it is, but it means that a) you’ll be prepared for unexpected guests; and b) you’ll have enough leftovers to make several lunches, or to pop into a whole second dinner (chicken pot pie, anyone?). I also save the carcasses for making homemade chicken stock, so nothing goes to waste.
How to Roast a Whole Chicken
I get a warm, fuzzy feeling inside when I smell chicken roasting in the oven. It makes me think of home and my Mom. Here’s how we make it in our kitchen. It’s easy to make whole roasted chicken at home, so you should learn how to do it. We’re sharing a basic method for how to do it. Find our best tips for making it below.
Where you purchase your chicken will affect the weight. Quite a large chicken, weighing between 5 and 6 pounds, is required for our recipe. However, the recipe will still work with chickens that weigh less (3 1/2 pounds). The bake time will be slightly less.
That’s why we love having our instant-read thermometer handy. This allows us to precisely gauge the chicken’s doneness; the thermometer should read 165 degrees F when inserted into the thickest part of the thigh. Don’t worry if you don’t have a thermometer; a good alternative test is to cut between the leg and thigh. If the juices run clear, you should be good.
You can roast a chicken at almost any temperature. It all depends on what you are looking for.
Depending on the weight, roast between 300 and 350 degrees for 1 1/2 to 2 hours to achieve exceptionally tender, fall-off-the-bone meat and soft skin.
Roast the chicken at 425 degrees F for 45 to 1 1/2 hours, depending on the weight, for firmer meat and crispier skin. In the recipe below, a 5 to 6-pound chicken is roasted at 425 degrees for approximately 1.5 hours.
To roast the chicken, you will need a pan. An oven-safe pan, a large baking dish, a rimmed baking sheet, or a roasting pan with a rack will all do.
We prefer to keep things simple when it comes to seasoning. We use salt and freshly ground pepper to season the entire chicken as well as the cavity. By the way, if you have the time, chill the seasoned chicken in the refrigerator overnight or for an hour. Essentially, this is dry brining, which will make the meat more juicy and the skin more crisp.
Then, we stuff the cavity with a whole, cut-in-half garlic clove and a quartered lemon. You can continue using our technique or experiment by stuffing the cavity with fresh herbs or a spice rub. The chicken can also be roasted on top of vegetables; in our photos, we did this with onions.