Roast Chicken is by far my and my family's favorite Sunday meal! It is so simple to make with just a few herbs and spices that you can readily find in your pantry! Fancy it up with the addition of some colorful roasted vegetables and it can be served beautifully on your Christmas dinner table.
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Simple Ingredients and Variations
- Whole Roasting Chicken: perfect size for roasting is anywhere from 4 to 5 pounds, with 5 pounds being the ideal size.
- Sea Salt or Kosher Salt
- Ground Black Pepper: I have also used the multi-colored or rainbow peppercorns which adds some heat and more flavor to the dish.
- Paprika: Hungarian or Smoked add an intense flavor and color.
- Lemon: I have also used orange which gives a hint of sweetness.
- Onion: any variety will work.
- Thyme: Using fresh thyme adds a more appealing look to the finished dish.
- Garlic: I prefer using a whole bulb and then cut in half, as you see in the photo. This makes the roast chicken more flavorful and I think you can agree that it adds to the whole presentation of the finished roast chicken.
Please see the recipe card for specific measurements for ingredients.
How to Roast Chicken
- STEP 1: Rinse and dry the whole chicken with paper towels. I know this is a bit controversial. Some people don't rinse the chicken. I always have. So I'll stick to what I'm used to doing. How about you, do you use your chicken before cooking it? Anyway, back to roasting chicken... Rub the whole chicken with olive oil. Set aside.
- STEP 2: In a small bowl, mix sea salt, ground black pepper, and paprika. Rub the dry mixture all over the chicken, as well as inside the cavity of the chicken.
- STEP 3: Stuff the chicken with the lemon, onion, sprigs of thyme, and garlic.
- STEP 4: Roast the chicken in the oven for 30 minutes at 425 °F (218 °C). After 30 minutes, decrease the temperature to 350 °F (177 °C) and cook until a thermometer inserted into the chicken breast registers 165 °F (74 °C). Enjoy!
Please see the recipe card for specific instructions on how to roast chicken.
Cooking Tips:
- Remove the seeds from the lemon, as it can cause a bitter taste.
- Cut the garlic crosswise as this helps infuse some flavor to the chicken as it cooks.
- Cut some garlic cloves into thin slivers and put some in between the skin of the chicken.
- If desired, you can also add a couple of carrots and celery stalks and lay them at the bottom of the baking dish while roasting the chicken. This adds more flavor to the roasted chicken and will yield some juice which you can use to make gravy.
- For a more festive look, garnish with orange slices and fresh cranberries.
Frequently Asked Question
Covering the chicken while roasting will keep it from getting crisper skin and a nice golden color. For this reason, we suggest roasting the chicken in this recipe to be uncovered.
Roasting a chicken will give it crisper skin while maintaining a tender and juicier meat. Baking is a cooking method for recipes that start out soft such as dough or cake batter.
Using a foil towards the end of cooking time to cover the breast of the chicken will ensure that the meat stays moist and juicy.
Chili, Cilantro, Cumin, Curry, Garlic, Ginger, Marjoram, Nutmeg, Oregano, Paprika, Peppercorns, Rosemary, Sage, Salt, Tarragon, Thyme.
A full-flavored red, a medium-bodied rosé, or a dry white will pair very well with the simplicity of this dish.
Other Chicken Recipes You May Like
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📖 Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 4 lb. Roasting Chicken
- ¼ c. Extra Virgin olive oil
- ½ T. sea salt
- ¼ t. black pepper
- ¼ t. paprika
- ¼ c. of sliced onion
- 1 lemon cut in half
- sprigs of thyme
- 1 whole bulb of garlic
Instructions
- Rub the whole chicken with ¼ c. olive oil.
- Then on a small dish, mix ½ T. sea salt, ¼ t. black pepper and ¼ t. paprika. Rub the dry mixture all over the chicken, as well as inside the cavity.
- Stuff the chicken with 1 lemon cut in half with seeds removed, ¼ c. of sliced onion, sprigs of thyme, and a whole bulb of garlic (yes, a whole bulb – don’t worry it’s an aphrodisiac!).
- Cut the garlic crosswise (so the garlic flavor will slowly infuse onto the chicken as it cooks). Slice a few cloves of garlic and put some in between the skin of the chicken and the meat.
- Roast the chicken in the oven for 30 minutes in 425 degree F . After 30 minutes, decrease the temperature to 350 degree F and cook until a thermometer inserted into the chicken breast registers 165 degree F, 30 to 45 minutes. Enjoy!
Angie
Perfect and delicious! Made this for Christmas and I was wanting to make something fancy but wasn't too hard to make thank goodness I found this recipe. My family loved it and I will for sure make this again. Thank you!!