Description
The juicy, tender meat of this basic whole roasted chicken recipe is comforting, yet simple to make.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 whole chicken; gizzards, neck, and liver removed
- 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoon salt (more if you have a larger chicken)
- 2 teaspoons finely ground pepper
- 1 lemon, quartered
- 1 whole garlic, cut in half
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Get everything that you need for the chicken ready so that you don’t have to wash your hands a million times. Mix the salt and pepper in a small bowl, get your lemon and garlic cut and get a 6-inch piece of cooking twine cut. Have ready a roasting pan with a rack. *
- Prepare your chicken by patting the chicken dry with paper towels. Don’t skip this step; it really helps to create crispy skin.
- Sprinkle a good amount of the salt and pepper mixture in the cavity of the bird. This may sound strange, but trust me, it makes a difference in how moist and flavorful the entire meat of the bird is. Rub the remainder of the salt and pepper on the entire skin of the bird.
- Stuff the larger opening of the cavity with the lemon and garlic. It’s okay to pack it in there tight.
- Next, use the kitchen twine to tie the thighs together. You simply cross the drumsticks over top of each other. This ensures that the thigh meat cooks evenly with the body of the bird. Place the bird breast-side up on the rack of your roasting pan and tuck the tips of the wings under so they don’t burn.
- Cover the bird with tin foil. Place in the oven and roast for about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Remove the foil so that the skin gets crispy and cook for about 30 minutes more. The bird should cook for a total of about 2 hours, depending on the weight of your chicken. The internal temperature should be at 160 degrees and the skin should be crisp and golden brown.
- Allow the chicken to rest for 15 minutes before carving. This helps to lock the juices inside the bird. Carve the entire bird while it is still warm; the meat comes off a lot easier than when the bird is cold.
- Save the carcass, bones, and garlic for homemade chicken stock (recipe coming soon). Simply put everything in a gallon Ziploc bag and store it in the freezer until you are ready to make stock!
Notes
*If you don’t have a roasting pan you can make one by using a lasagna pan and tin foil. Use the tin foil to create your “rack”. Or you can use a lot of carrots and veggies to create a rack. The purpose is to lift the bird off of the pan so that air circulates underneath the entire bird. This helps it to cook evenly and create crispy skin.
