Delicious Roasted Chicken Recipes

THE BEST ROASTED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Mix butter, garlic, thyme, rosemary, lemon zest, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper together in a bowl.
• Loosen skin on chicken breast; rub butter mixture between skin and breast meat. Press on the skin to distribute evenly. Rub oil, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper all over; place lemon halves inside cavity. Set in a baking pan.
• Roast in the preheated oven, basting after 30 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink, about 1 hour. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone, should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Let rest before carving, about 15 minutes.

PERFECT ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Place the onions, carrots, and fennel in a roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.
• Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes. Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables.

JUICY ROASTED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Place chicken in a roasting pan, and season generously inside and out with salt and pepper. Sprinkle inside and out with onion powder. Place 3 tablespoons margarine in the chicken cavity. Arrange dollops of the remaining margarine around the chicken's exterior. Cut the celery into 3 or 4 pieces, and place in the chicken cavity.
• Bake uncovered 1 hour and 15 minutes in the preheated oven, to a minimum internal temperature of 180 degrees F (82 degrees C). Remove from heat, and baste with melted margarine and drippings. Cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest about 30 minutes before serving.

PERFECT ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Let chicken and 1 tablespoon butter stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Remove and discard the plastic pop-up timer from chicken if there is one. Remove the giblets and excess fat from the chicken cavity. Rinse chicken inside and out under cold running water. Dry chicken thoroughly with paper towels. Tuck the wing tips under the body. Sprinkle the cavity of the chicken liberally with salt and pepper, and set aside.
• In the center of a heavy-duty roasting pan, place onion slices in two rows, touching. Place the palm of your hand on top of lemon and, pressing down, roll lemon back and forth several times. This softens the lemon and allows the juice to flow more freely. Pierce entire surface of lemon with a fork. Using the side of a large knife, gently press on garlic cloves to open slightly. Insert garlic cloves, thyme sprigs, and lemon into cavity. Place chicken in pan, on onion slices. Cut about 18 inches of kitchen twine, bring chicken legs forward, cross them, and tie together.
• Spread the softened butter over entire surface of chicken, and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Place in the oven, and roast until skin is deep golden brown and crisp and the juices run clear when pierced, about 1 1/2 hours. When chicken seems done, insert an instant-read thermometer into the breast, then the thigh. The breast temperature should read 180 degrees and the thigh 190 degrees.
• Remove chicken from oven, and transfer to a cutting board with a well. Let chicken stand 10 to 15 minutes so the juices settle. Meanwhile, pour the pan drippings into a shallow bowl or fat separator, and leave onions in the pan. Leave any brown baked-on bits in the bottom of the roasting pan, and remove and discard any blackened bits. Using a large spoon or fat separator, skim off and discard as much fat as possible. Pour the remaining drippings and the juices that have collected under the resting chicken back into the roasting pan. Place on the stove over medium-high heat to cook, about 1 minute. Add chicken stock, raise heat to high, and, using a wooden spoon, stir up and combine the brown bits with the stock until the liquid is reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Strain the gravy into a small bowl, pressing on onions to extract any liquid. Discard onions, and stir in the remaining tablespoon of cold butter until melted and incorporated. Untie the legs, and remove and discard garlic, thyme, and lemon. Carve, and serve gravy on the side.

DELICIOUS ROASTED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Make a brine with the water, kosher salt, and sugar.
• Soak chicken in brine (refrigerated) for 2-4 hours.
• Dry and trim excess skin from chicken.
• Preheat oven to 375.
• Combine onion, jalapeno or bell pepper, garlic and lemon in a bowl.
• Loosely stuff chicken with onion mixture--do not overstuff! Discard any extra stuffing, or use it for another recipe.
• Rub the outside of the chicken with butter.
• Lay chicken on its side in a rack on a roasting pan. Pour 1-2 cups water in the bottom of the roasting pan (enough to completely cover the bottom of the pan without touching the chicken). You can use balled up aluminum foil to support the chicken if it doesn't want to cooperate.
• Roast for approximately 20 minutes on one side, then turn it to its other side and roast another 20 minutes.
• Turn chicken so it is breast side down and roast another 15 minutes.
• Turn chicken so it is breast side up. Coat in butter again and sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper to taste. Continue roasting until juices run clear and thermometer inserted in thigh reads 165 degrees.
• Side note: Obviously the larger the chicken, the longer the roasting time, but on average this usually takes about an hour and a half.

DELICIOUS ROAST CHICKEN (OR TURKEY, CORNISH HENS, ETC.)

Steps:

• Remove any "innards" from chicken.
• Rinse chicken and cavity with cold water, pat dry with paper towel.
• Oil outside of chicken well with olive oil.
• Sprinkle with seasoning salt inside and out.
• Place on rack in shallow roasting pan with a 1/2" of water covering bottom of pan.
• Sprinkle rest of spices and herbs evenly on outside of chicken.
• Tie legs together if desired. Tuck wings under.
• Roast, uncovered, in 350° oven for about 2 hours or until done. (*About 20 minutes per pound).
• *Baste every 30 minutes with melted butter.
• (You can also baste with juices from the pan when enough accumulate. But start with butter).
• Let chicken rest for about 15-20 minutes before carving.
• Great for turkeys, too!