Roasted Lemon Rosemary Chicken
Roasted Lemon Rosemary Chicken
Buttery chicken seasoned with lemon and fresh rosemary inside and out! A one pot meal dinner awaits to tickle your taste buds and satisfy your tummy! This amazingly easy dish is perfect for your family or gathering of friends. Maybe try it for Valentine’s Day too!!
Roasted Lemon Rosemary Chicken
Yield: 4 - 6 servings
Ingredients:
One 4 1/2 – 5 pound chicken
5 tablespoons butter, softened
1 small onion, quartered
2 fresh lemons, one zested and juiced and one thinly sliced
3 sprigs fresh rosemary, stemmed and finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper
Gravy:
1 cup roasted chicken drippings or chicken broth
1/4 cup white wine
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Dash black pepper
1/2 teaspoon rosemary, chopped
1 tablespoon butter
Equipment needed:
6-quart Dutch oven or large pot with lid
Cutting board
Chef knife
Citrus juicer
Microplane grater
Liquid measuring cup
Measuring spoons
Vegetable spray or olive oil
Paper toweling
Small bowl and fork
Kitchen twine, if desired
Small saucepan
Rubber spatula
Kitchen shears or sharp knife
My hubby loves lemon and the first time I made this he wanted it again and again! All the flavors infuse into the chicken as it roasts creating a wonderful savory dish. Super easy to prepare too. If you can chop and combine ingredients... this is the recipe for you! Pretty economical dish too! If you’re a family of two you can eat this once and make other meals too! I made this over the holidays and created 3 meals from one chicken. One meal was the Lemon Rosemary Chicken and then I used the dark meat for Chicken Pot Pie. The carcass was boiled off to create Chicken Noodle Soup... Creative cooking! So, let’s get this chicken into the oven!
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Begin your preparation with spraying or oiling the Dutch oven/ pot you plan to cook the chicken. Remove the chicken from the wrapper and rinse well under cold running water and pat dry with paper toweling. Place the chicken in the oiled pot and liberally sprinkle with salt and pepper inside and out.
The next steps are to prep all the ingredients you will need to stuff and season the chicken before roasting. Peel and quarter the onion. Using a microplane grater (or small flat grater), zest the rind of one of the fresh lemons. Cut this lemon in half and juice it... should provide ~ 2 - 3 tablespoons of juice. Slice the other lemon into 6 - 7 thin slices. Remove rosemary leaves from stems and using a chef knife, finely chop. Mince the garlic and you’re ready!
Place the softened butter and lemon zest into a small bowl. Using a fork, combine well. First loosen as much skin around breasts, legs and thighs as you can without tearing the skin. If the skin tears a bitthat’s fine... takes practice. Use your fingers to place butter between the skin and meat all over the top of the chicken and down the sides. If it’s a bit chunky that’s fine, as it will melt as it cooks. Reserve 4 nice lemon slices for the top of the chicken. Stuff the remaining lemon slices and end pieces, onion quarters, 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice (remaining juice is to be saved for gravy) and half of the chopped rosemary into the chicken cavity. Here you can use kitchen twine to pull the legs together and hold in the stuffing. I often skip this step. Sprinkle remaining rosemary on outside of chicken carcass and arrange lemon slices on top as shown. Cover Dutch oven wit lid and place in preheated 350 F oven. Roast for 1 hour & 15 minutes. Remove pot cover for last 15 – 20 minutes to allow extra browning. I have placed the roasted chicken under the broiler for 3 – 4 minutes for extra browning too.
Assemble the ingredients needed for the gravy. After the chicken is finished, carefully remove ~ 1 cup of the juices from the pot and place in a small saucepan. Combine 1 tablespoon remaining lemon juice, white wine, salt, pepper and cornstarch in a liquid measuring cup or small bowl. Mix well to dissolve cornstarch. Cornstarch is always added to a cold liquid for thickening, otherwise it will clump, resulting in lumpy gravy. Cornstarch is also a gluten free thickening agent to use in place of flour. Cook mixture over medium heat until thicker and bubbly. Creates a glistening, clear sauce too... awesome meal appeal with great flavor too! Adjust salt/ pepper seasoning to your liking.
Your chicken is ready! Doesn’t it look fabulous? Cut the chicken into quarters using a sharp knife or kitchen shears. I use the breast meat for my meal pictured... served with roasted cauliflower or a vegetable of your choice and a couple spoonfuls of gravy on top... Enjoy!!
** For a different twist using 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Arrrange chicken in a greased 13 x 9-inch pan. prepare ingredients listed in roasted chicken recipe and place on top of chicken breasts. Bake in 350 F oven for 50 - 55 minutes. Prepare gravy using chicken broth and pour over plated chicken. Enjoy!!