Garlic & Herb Roasted Chicken

I love chicken – the moist, tender, flavorful kind.  This recipe takes time to roast, but it’s easy and the flavor just bursts in your mouth!

Garlic & Herb Roasted Chicken

I love chicken – the moist, tender, flavorful kind. This recipe takes time to roast, but it’s easy and the flavor just bursts in your mouth!

What you need:

  • 3-4 pound whole chicken
  • 1 Tablespoon butter, melted
  • ½ teaspoon ground thyme
  • ½ teaspoon ground sage
  • ½ teaspoon lemon pepper
  • ½ teaspoon garlic salt
  • 3 teaspoons minced, fresh garlic (about 3 cloves)
  • Lemon pepper and Garlic salt to season outside

How to Do it:

Butterfly the chicken by cutting it down the back and opening it up flat.

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Wipe down gently.

Mix the butter, herbs and garlic in a bowl.

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With the inside up, lightly season with garlic salt and lemon pepper.

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Turn skin side up and gently lift the skin from the neck.

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Using your hands and about a Tablespoon at a time, push the butter mixture under the skin and spread it around – down to the legs and under the wings, across the breast and the back.  Keep spreading it until all the mixture is used.

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Gently push the skin back down over the neck area.

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Place the bird skin side up on the rack of a roasting pan.  Season with garlic salt and lemon pepper.  I like to season the skin side heavily.  The salt makes the skin really crispy.

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Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.

Baste with some of the pan drippings and turn the heat up to 350.  Continue to baste every 15 to 20 minutes.  Bake for another hour, or the meat has no pink in it at all.  Be careful not to overcook and dry the meat out.

Remove from the oven and let rest for about 10 minutes.

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Cut down the center of the breast and then again just above the legs.

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You can cut the breast portions into slices, as I did.

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I served ours with sautéed rainbow chard and roasted golden beets.

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Like gravy? You can also do baked potatoes with gravy from the pan drippings!  Put the potatoes in when you raise the heat and bake until soft.  To make the gravy, put ¼ cup flour into the drippings in the roasting pan.  Stir it all up well.  Turn on the heat and brown the flour (takes the raw taste out).  As it begins to thicken, slowly add broth or milk in – usually about 1 -2 cups.  Keep cooking until it thickens to the consistency you like for gravy.  If it’s too thick, just add a little more liquid.  Always start with less liquid.  It’s easy to make it looser, not so easy to make thicker.

Serves 4-6

© Copyright 2016 The Lazy Gastronome

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6 Responses to Garlic & Herb Roasted Chicken

  1. Hi Helen, What a beautiful roasted chicken! You make it look easy! It looks nice and moist also. Thanks for sharing the instructions! Have a Happy Memorial Day Week-end! Blessings, Janet

  2. Kathleen says:

    That looks so delicious. I have never cooked a chicken that way, I would love to try it. Thanks for the tutorial, that makes it easier to follow.

    Kathleen
    The Bloggers Pit Stop

  3. This chicken looks delicious! Thanks for sharing at the Sunday Fitness & Food Link-Up :-)

  4. Pingback: Creating A Pop-Up Kitchen When You Cook For Friends - The Lazy GastronomeThe Lazy Gastronome

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