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This tender and juicy Lemon Garlic Roast Chicken with crispy skin is everything a wholesome Sunday roast should be!
A skillet (or pan) roast chicken with zesty, fresh flavours and using easy to find ingredients, is our new go-to Summer roast recipe. Garlic, onions, lemons, olive oil, fresh herbs and a splash of white wine produce the most amazing pan juices loaded with incredible flavour. Not a dry piece of chicken in the house!
ROAST CHICKEN
You all loved this Garlic Herb Butter Roast Chicken recipe so much, it was time to give you another one! As juicy on the inside as our Slow Cooker Whole Chicken and as crispy on the outside as our Garlic Herb Butter Turkey, this chicken is going to hit all of your sweet spots.
Lemon juice and garlic marry into a subtle splash of white wine, drawing out flavours that could rival any restaurant. The pan juice alone is worth a million bucks!
HOW TO ROAST A CHICKEN
This is not a regular old chicken recipe drizzled with a little oil, sprinkled with a sad amount of salt and pepper and roasted until golden. This is a mouth-watering, mind-blowing chicken recipe with a simple to make garlic-herb mixture.
The garlic-herb mixture is used to slather flavour ALL over your chicken, including under the skin for optimal taste and juiciness. The chicken is roasted on top of lemon slices, onion slices and garlic slices to infuse even MORE insane flavour into the skin and flesh of the roast chicken.
HERBS
We use fresh herbs in this recipe: Thyme, Rosemary and Parsley. You can leave out the herbs you don’t necessarily like or substitute them with other herbs, like Oregano, Basil, Dill or Tarragon.
WHITE WINE OPTIONS:
You can use white wine or chicken broth/stock. If using wine, any dry white wine works with this roast chicken. I always use a good quality, dry white wine as opposed to a cheap boxed wine; for example, a $15-$20 bottle usually produces the best flavour.
You can try a:
- Pinot Gris (my favourite)
- Sauv Blanc
- Chardonnay
Don’t be tempted to use a sweeter wine, as it will generally alter the taste of the pan juices.
HOW TO BUTTERFLY (SPATCHCOCK) A CHICKEN
Using kitchen scissors, cut down either side of chicken’s backbone. Turn the chicken over and place it breast side up. Press down on breastbone to flatten.
HOW LONG TO ROAST A CHICKEN
This roast chicken recipe is different in that we use a butterflied (or spatchcocked) chicken to create a uniform thickness, so that it cooks quicker and more evenly. Butterflying a whole chicken helps to reduce cooking time, meaning you can have a roast chicken on the dinner table within a fraction of the time!
- Take your chicken out of the refrigerator 20-30 minutes before roasting to shave off another 5-10 minutes of cooking time!
- Roast at 450°F (or 230°C) for 45-55 minutes, depending on the size of your chook, until the internal temperature of the thickest part of breast reads 165 degrees °F (75°C) and juices run clear.
- Broil for an extra 5 minutes or so until you get a beautiful, golden, crispy skin.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH ROAST CHICKEN
Luckily a classic roast chicken is one of our favourite meals, which means we have an endless list of delicious sides to pair with your chook.
Pair your chicken with our Crispy Garlic Butter Parmesan Smashed Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Roasted Cauliflower, Roasted Sweet Potatoes or our Parmesan Roasted Carrots.
LOOKING FOR MORE ROAST CHICKEN RECIPES? TRY THESE!
Garlic Herb Butter Roast Chicken
Butterflied Portuguese BBQ Nandos Chicken
Roasted Asian Glazed Chicken Thighs
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Lemon Garlic Roast Chicken
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary finely chopped
- 4 teaspoons salt divided
- 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper adjust to your taste
- 1 lemon halved and sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 1 onion halved and sliced 1/4-inch-thick
- 3 garlic cloves large, thinly sliced
- 4-5 pound whole chicken backbone removed and butterflied
- 1/2 cup dry white wine such as Pinot Grigio - or low sodium chicken broth/stock
- 1/4 cup lemon juice juice of one lemon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C). Thoroughly pat chicken dry all over with paper towel.
- Combine the oil, minced garlic, parsley, thyme, rosemary, 3 teaspoons salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Arrange the lemon slices, onion slices and garlic slices in the base of a 12-inch cast-iron skillet (or oven-proof pan). Place the chicken, skin-side down, on top of the lemon/onion slices. Pour over half of the oil/herbs and rub all over the meat. Turn the chicken over (skin-side up) and pour over remaining oil/herb mixture, rubbing the oil into the meat under the skin as well. Pour the wine and lemon juice into the base of the pan.
- Season chicken skin with remaining salt. Roast for 45-55, basting half way through cooking time, until juices run clear when chicken thigh is pierced with a skewer.
- Baste again, then broil for a further 5-10 minutes until golden. Remove the chicken from the oven, cover skillet tightly with foil and allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving, allowing the juices to recirculate through the meat.
- Cut the chicken into quarters or eighths, sprinkle with a little extra salt and pepper. Serve, drizzled with pan juices and cooked onions/garlic.
Notes
- Make sure to marinate both on and under the chicken's skin for optimum flavour.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Utterly fantastic recipe, incredibly moist and flavoursome, bravo!
I have made this several times and it comes out perfect every time. About to make it again tonight for company. Possibly one of the best chicken recipes ever!!
This is absolutely one of the best chicken recipes I’ve ever tried. It’s so juicy and just bursts with flavor. It has become a favorite with my family and will be on a regular rotation for Sunday dinner.
This is the BEST roast chicken I have ever had!!! 2 of us ate the whole thing, it was so good, I can’t wait to make it again 🙂
Made this a few weeks ago as per the recipe and it was absolutely delicious – definitely the best roast chicken I’ve ever cooked. The pan juices are as stated – amazing. Creates a delicious sauce for the chicken and accompanying vegetables.
Cooking it again tonight, but going to try chicken thigh pieces and drumsticks
OMG – this elevated my usual roast chicken!
It’s only two of us so bought a half chicken and this came out, what’s beyond fantastical?
MY DEPARTURES:
Layered the bottom of the pan with onions, eggplant and carrot slices. I sliced the garlic head and placed faced down and the individual cloves fell out after cooking – used it on the veggies and baked potato — delish! However, I didn’t have rosemary so that’s the only omission.
Will definitely be making this all the time!
I bought a whole chicken today and was looking for something new to try. I made the recipe exactly as posted except that I roasted an entire head of garlic. I used half of the garlic paste in the bottom of the pan and the rest on top of the chicken. Even though it’s only March I was able to harvest fresh rosemary and lemon thyme from my mini greenhouse here in NJ. This is so easy to do! I use 2 clear plastic basement window well covers to protect my herbs during the winter. I’m so looking forward to having this for dinner!
This was AMAZING! The flavor was out of this world. the chicken was better than any roasted or rotisserie chicken I’ve ever had. Of course, I expected nothing less from your fabulous recipes!
Made this for dinner last night and it was a huge hit with my family! I followed the recipe (subbed brut champagne for white wine) and it was fabulous! This recipe is a keeper– thank you!
This is hands down the BEST chicken I have ever tasted! I didn’t have fresh herbs so I used dried but next time I will definatley make sure to use fresh to see if it could possibly get any better! Thank you this is a keeper for sure!