This lemon roasted chicken has tender, juicy meat flavored with aromatic fresh herbs and zesty lemon cooked on a bed of colorful roasted vegetables. It's an easy and delicious dinner that's sure to impress.
¼cuplemon juiceuse the juice from one of the lemons above
All the liquid from the roasting pan
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Cut up all vegetables into approximately ½ - ¾ inch pieces. As long as the potatoes are roughly the same size, all is good. Place them in a 2 ½ quart baking dish, or whatever you have. You just want it to be small enough that you have a good 2 inches of vegetables on which to place your chicken. This will keep them from cooking too fast.
Pick and chop the rosemary and oregano, toss on top of the vegetables. Add the picked thyme, black pepper and a generous three-finger pinch of salt or two.
Zest one lemon over the vegetables. Set aside to juice for the pan sauce if making.
Stir the vegetables.
Thinly slice half of the other lemon into rings. Squeeze the uncut half over the vegetables and then put the squeezed lemon inside the body cavity of the chicken. Waste not, want not!
Working gently, remove the skin from the breast of the chicken. Start towards the larger end of the breast and work your finger between the skin and the breast. I make a little windshield wiper motion with my finger as I slowly detach the skin all the way down. Once it has been detached, slide the lemon rings between the skin and breast.
Truss the chicken (my one pan roasted chicken video can help!), and place on top of the vegetables. Sprinkle salt on the chicken skin, add the butter and chicken stock, and then bake in a preheated oven until the chicken registers 165°F in the thickest part of the thigh. The time will vary greatly depending on the size of your chicken but will most likely be at least an hour.
In the last 15 minutes of the chicken cooking, place a baking sheet in the oven to preheat if you are going to finish your veggies in the oven.
Let the chicken rest 10 minutes before serving. If you are not going to make a pan sauce, dinner is ready! If you are, then keep going.
Pour the remaining liquid from the baking dish into a medium sauté pan. Reduce liquid until it has a sauce-like consistency, approximately 2-3 minutes. It will run off your spoon and coat it rather than just pouring off like water.
While your sauce reduces, pour the vegetables onto the preheated baking sheet and place them back into the oven.
When your sauce is reduced, add the lemon juice and boil just 30 seconds more. Taste for salt, adding more if needed.
Slice the chicken, pull the vegetables from the oven, pour on that delectable sauce, and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Technique - Properly truss the chicken: Trussing the chicken ensures that it cooks evenly and retains its moisture. Use kitchen twine to tie the legs together and tuck the wings underneath the bird. Variations - Chicken Legs: Instead of using a whole chicken, you can make this recipe with chicken legs or chicken thighs.Storage - Store leftover roast chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. You can also freeze leftover roast chicken for 3-4 months.