Lemon Pepper Roast Chicken Recipes

LEMON ROASTED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Zest the yellow rind of the lemon. Cut the lemon in half and juice half of the lemon into a small bowl. Add the rind, olive oil, softened butter, garlic, salt and pepper. Stir well (the mixture should be fairly thick).
• Gently lift the skin from the chicken breasts and place about 1 tablespoon of the butter mixture under the skin. Massage it evenly across the breasts.
• Cover the skin of the chicken with the remaining butter mixture. Refrigerate for 30-45 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 425°F. Slice the remaining lemon half and place it inside the chicken along with ½ an onion. Tie the legs together. Place the chicken in a shallow pan breast side up and place in oven.
• Turn oven down to 375°F and bake for 1 ¼ hours or until the inner thigh reaches 165°F.

LEMON-PEPPER ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Pulse the butter, lemon zest and juice, garlic, thyme, paprika, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 tablespoon pepper in a food processor until smooth.
• Put the chickens on a rimmed baking sheet. Loosen the skin on the breasts and legs with your fingers. Rub about three-quarters of the lemon-pepper butter under the skin, then rub the rest all over the chickens. Refrigerate, uncovered, 2 hours or up to 8 hours before roasting.
• Tie the chicken legs together with twine and tuck the wings under the body; place breast-side up on a rack in a large roasting pan. Pour the wine into the pan and transfer to the oven; roast until the chickens are golden and crisp and a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 170 degrees F, about 1 hour, 50 minutes. (Tent with foil if the skin browns too quickly.)
• Let the chickens rest 10 minutes before portioning (see below). Season with salt.
• Grab one of the legs with tongs and pull it away from the body; cut through the skin with kitchen shears.
• Pull the leg out and back to pop the joint; remove the leg with the shears. Repeat on the other side.
• Separate the drumsticks from the thighs with the shears.
• Cut off the wings as close to the body as possible.
• Insert the shears into the tail end of the chicken and cut along the breastbone.
• Pull back one of the breasts and cut it off the backbone. Repeat on the other side.

SALT AND PEPPER ROAST CHICKEN WITH LEMON DRESSING

Steps:

• For the salt and pepper roast chicken: Liberally season the chicken inside and out with kosher salt and pepper. Refrigerate the chicken uncovered on lowest shelf of fridge in a rimmed pan or dish overnight or up to 24 hours and a minimum of 1 hour.
• For the lemon dressing: Heat a medium cast-iron or heavy skillet over medium-high heat, then sear the lemons cut-side down to caramelize them and sweeten juices, about 4 minutes. Remove lemons from the skillet, add 1/4 cup EVOO and reduce heat a bit. Add shallots and garlic and stir 5 to 6 minutes to soften, then add 1/4 cup water and let it absorb. Turn off heat and cool mixture a bit to room temp. Place cooled mixture in a medium glass bowl and add the juice of the lemons, lemon zest, oregano, red pepper flakes and parsley. Whisk in remaining 3/4 cup EVOO to form a thick dressing.
• Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F, rack at center. Roast the chicken in the skillet on one side for 20 minutes, then turn to opposite side and roast 20 minutes more. Finally turn the chicken on its back (breast-side up), spoon juices over the skin, and continue to roast for 15 to 20 minutes or until the chicken registers 160 to 165 degrees F. Rest bird and carve, then serve with sauce to pass and crusty bread.

LEMON PEPPER ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Puree all ingredients except chicken in blender until smooth.
• Put roasting chicken in glass baking dish and pat dry.
• Baste in the pureed sauce and cook in preheated 450 degree oven until golden brown, about 1/2 an hour.

ROAST CHICKEN WITH BELL PEPPERS, LEMON, AND THYME

Steps:

• Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 425°F. Heat a large ovenproof skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium-high. Cook bell peppers in skillet, turning every minute or two, until blistered in several spots, about 5 minutes. (You aren't trying to cook them, just get some color on them.) Transfer bell peppers to a cutting board and let cool slightly; reserve skillet. Stand a pepper upright and slice off sides, working your way around stem in 3 or 4 cuts. Pull out ribs and seeds; discard along with stems. Repeat with remaining peppers.
• Return peppers to skillet and add shallot, chile, and 3 thyme sprigs. Season generously with salt and black pepper and drizzle 1/4 cup oil over. Season chicken all over with salt and black pepper and set on top of peppers. Place a lemon half and remaining 2 thyme sprigs in chicken cavity and rub skin all over with remaining 1 Tbsp. oil. Roast in oven until skin is golden brown and crisp all over and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of breast registers 160°F, 60-80 minutes. Remove from oven (be careful; handle is hot!) and let rest 15 minutes before transferring chicken to a cutting board and carving.
• Just before serving, squeeze remaining lemon half over chicken and bell peppers.