Perfect Roasted Chicken With Fresh Herbs Lemon Recipes

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.

ROASTED CHICKEN WITH LEMON AND FRESH HERBS

Steps:

• Please note you won't use the entire bunches of both herbs, but you do need a fair amount.
• Preheat oven to 400°F, have ready a shallow roasting pan.
• Cut the potatoes, sweet potatoes and parsnips into chunks about one-inch square.
• Place the potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnips, two onions (peeled and quartered) and 4 of the garlic cloves in the shallow roasting pan; sprinkle generously with coarse (kosher) salt and freshly ground black pepper, then drizzle with a few teaspoons of olive oil; toss with your hands to coat all the veggies.
• Nestle one sprig of fresh rosemary and one sprig of thyme into the veggies, then set pan aside.
• On a cutting board, quarter one of the lemons (unpeeled) into wedges, slice the remaining 2 garlic cloves in half (leave skins on), then place the remaining onion quarters beside them, along with several sprigs of fresh rosemary and fresh thyme; sprinkle these items generously with salt and pepper.
• Traditionally, you salt and pepper the inside of a chicken to be roasted; I find this very awkward to do so I salt and pepper what I'm going to stuff inside the bird, instead.
• Now stuff all into the cavity of the chicken and then truss (tie up with kitchen string) the bird, if desired (it's not necessary); my grocery store sells birds already trussed so I just have to slip the tips of the drumsticks out from the under the string then tuck them back in when I'm done.
• Place chicken atop the vegetables in the roasting pan.
• Juice the remaining lemon; chop up some fresh rosemary and fresh thyme.
• Rub the juice all over the chicken, then drizzle a couple of tablespoons of olive oil over the bird; sprinkle with the fresh herbs, then the paprika, then the salt and pepper.
• Roast in preheated oven for 40 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375°F and continue to roast another 30 minutes or so, until the juices around the thigh run clear; a smaller bird may only take another 20 minutes, while a larger bird could require another 40 minutes.
• When chicken is done, remove it to a cutting board and cover with a tent of foil to keep warm; let chicken sit for 15 minutes before carving.
• While chicken is resting, give the veggies a good stir in the roasting pan (there will be lots of flavourful chicken juices in the pan) and return to oven.
• After chicken has rested, carve bird, place on platter, remove veggies from oven, and serve.
• This smells incredible as it roasts, so expect the folks at your dinner table to be extremely eager to dig in!

ROAST CHICKEN WITH LEMON AND FRESH HERBS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Rinse chicken; pat dry. Sprinkle chicken inside and out with salt and pepper. Place herb sprigs and lemon strips inside main cavity. Rub outside with oil, then chopped herbs and grated lemon peel. Place chicken in pan.
• Roast chicken 45 minutes; pour wine and broth over. Cook until juices run clear when thigh is pierced, basting often with pan juices, about 30 minutes. Serve chicken with pan juices.

PERFECT ROAST CHICKEN DINNER WITH LEMON, GARLIC AND HERBS

Steps:

• Place the cooking rack about 6 inches from the bottom of the oven, and preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Remove the chicken giblets, and any feathers or extra fat; rinse the chicken inside and out with cold running water and pat dry.
• Generously salt and pepper the chicken, inside and out.
• Stuff the cavity with sprigs of thyme and rosemary (or tarragon), quartered lemons, and garlic.
• Place chicken breast side up into a large Dutch oven or Le Creuset pan, tucking legs together (tie legs together with string, if necessary) and tucking the wing tips under the body of the chicken.
• Brush outside of chicken with melted butter, and sprinkle generously with additional salt and pepper.
• Place onions, celery, carrots, and potatoes evenly around the chicken; drizzle with olive oil and toss gently to coat.
• Roast the chicken for about 45 minutes, or until chicken is nicely browned.
• When chicken has browned, cover loosely with aluminum foil and continue to roast for an additional 45 minutes (for a 1 1/2 hours cooking time), or until juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh.
• Remove chicken and vegetables from oven to a platter and cover with aluminum foil; let rest for 20 minutes.
• Before serving, remove the herb stuffing from inside the bird, discard.
• Slice the roast chicken, and serve with the vegetables.
• This is a great Sunday dinner to be enjoyed with a good bottle of wine and a buttered baguette or fresh baked rolls.
• Bon appetit!