Lemon Roasted Chicken

One of the great things about chicken is that it’s very mild. That means you can do lots of things with it. You can spice it lightly for a tasty yet mild, or you can heat it up until it makes your eyes water. Don’t worry; this recipe is of the former variety.

Lemons and onions work really well with chicken. The lemons add a really neat bit of sparkle, and nicely enhance the flavor of the herbs. The seasonings used here are pretty standard for chicken, so your guests won’t have any real surprises. All in all, it’s very easy to prepare, making it a good choice if you’re just starting out with roasting. And you can use the leftovers for tacos and that’s always a big plus! So… let’s go have some fun!

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken, 3 to 5 lbs.
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1/4 cup fresh parsley
1/4 cup fresh thyme
2 tablespoons rosemary
2 tablespoons tarragon
1 onion, roughly chopped
Lemon wedges

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 450°.

Remove giblets and such from inside the chicken. Feel free to throw those out. Wash chicken thoroughly inside and out with hot water. Pat dry, inside and out.

Rub inside and outside with light coating of olive oil. this is really important for the outside, because it will help the skin get nice and crispy and develop of good color.

Stuff cavities with herbs, onions and lemon wedges. Pack them in as tightly as you can.

Place chicken on roasting rack. If using a pan instead, it helps to truss the bird – tie the legs together so they stay close to the rest of the chicken.

If using a meat thermometer (I highly recommend that), insert info thickest part of breast, taking care not to touch a bone.

Roast at 450° for about fifteen minutes, until skin develops a nice golden brown color.

Reduce heat to 375° and continue to cook until internal temperature reaches 165° and/or juices run clear.

Remove from oven and let rest for ten minutes so that juices reabsorb.

While it’s resting, remove onions, herbs and lemons from cavities. If desired, separate lemons from onions and herbs, and serve some of the onions with the chicken.

Cut chicken apart to serve. Add a lemon wedge or two to each plate.

Notes:

Free Range or Kosher chicken will taste best, but any decent chicken will work.

The size of your chicken will determine how much of everything else you will need. The measurements above are for a chicken weighing about 3 to 3-1/2 lbs. You may need to use more for a larger bird.

Likewise, the roasting time will depend on how large the bird is. That’s why I recommend using a meat thermometer to track internal temperature.

Feel free to add some cubed potatoes and other root vegetables in the bottom of the roasting pan.

Have fun with this, as always and please do let me know how things went. And don’t forget Rule #1:

Play with your food!

Lane

Try my other Chicken Recipes here.

Did you like this recipe? What recipes would you like to learn? Leave me a comment and tell me your thoughts! (And don’t forget to LIKE this post!) Share it using the tiles below.

Follow me on Twitter | LIKE Manly Kitchen on Facebook