F & L Market has Whole chickens for .79 a pound. This is my favorite classic roasted chicken. The leftovers make a terrific chicken salad too!
Ingredients
-
1.75 – 2 kg / 3.5 – 4lb whole chicken , patted dry
-
Salt and pepper
-
2 tsp olive oil
-
1 lemon, quartered
-
3 rosemary sprigs
Butter:
-
1 stick unsalted butter , melted
-
3 garlic cloves , minced
-
1 tbsp sage , finely chopped (Note 1)
-
2 tsp rosemary , finely chopped (Note 1)
-
1 tbsp parsley , finely chopped (Note 1)
-
1/2 tsp each salt and black pepper
-
1 cup / 250 ml dry white wine , or low sodium chicken broth
-
1 onion , quartered (Note 2)
-
1 garlic bulb , halved horizontally (Note 2)
Instructions
-
Take the chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking.
-
Preheat oven to 450F (standard) or 200C/430F (fan/convection). Put shelf in the middle.
-
Mix together Butter ingredients. Add juice from 2 wedges of lemon.
-
Place chicken in a roasting pan. Use a dessert spoon to loosen skin from chicken rub the butter on the top (the breast) and the drumsticks – not the underside.
-
Prop chicken upright, drizzle butter under skin, using most of the garlic/herb sludge, but saving a bit of butter for the skin
-
Drizzle / smear remaining butter all over surface of the chicken. Squeeze over juice of 2 lemon wedges.
-
Stuff used lemon wedges and rosemary inside chicken.
-
Tie drumstick ends with string and tuck wing tips under the chicken.
-
Sprinkle all over with salt and pepper.
-
Place onion and garlic in the pan, place chicken on top. Pour wine around, drizzle chicken with oil.
-
Transfer to oven. Roast for 10 minutes, then turn oven down to 180C/350F (all oven types). Roast for a further 1 hr 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature is 75C/165F or until juices run clear when pierced at the join between the drumstick and the body. Baste twice (30 min then at 1 hr), spooning pan juices over skin.
-
Rest for 15 minutes – don’t cover, skin becomes wet.
-
The pan juices make an amazing gravy!