Summer Roasted Chicken
It’s my big debut!! I had to take a bit of a break from cooking because life was getting very hectic with the end of school and the start of my new job, but i’m BACK AND BETTER THAN EVER! I wanted to come back with a bang and it was only fitting to post one of my favorite recipes that I have been making for YEARS… roasted chicken! Seriously, who doesn’t love a good roasted chicken?! Anyone who says they don’t like roasted chicken is lying!
This recipe for roasted chicken was created from experimentation; and experimentation in the kitchen is mainly driven by the senses. After all, experimenting is what makes cooking so joyful and fun! A roasted chicken is something that is so often over-complicated and even I sometimes catch myself getting intimidated by it! I wanted to introduce another staple recipe in my house, that is multifunctional, and is delicious!
This citrus roasted chicken is fullproof and looks and sounds super fancy, yet it’s so easy and simple! It entails very little prep and it’s only a few ingredients. What I also love about this recipe is how its simplicity allows you to taste all of the incredible flavors from the herbs to the lemons, oranges, etc. It’s so important to take advantage of the incredible produce we have access to now that it’s summer, so we shouldn’t cook anything that masks the delicious flavors! To summarize, 1) I love this recipe, 2) I love summer, and 3) cooking and food in general brings people together, so it should never feel like a burden, it should feel like a new opportunity to try something new and experiment!
Ingredients
1 whole chicken
1 orange of your preference - thinly sliced
1 meyer lemon - thinly sliced
1 yellow onion - peeled and cut into chunks
1 bulb of garlic - cut in half
a few sprigs of thyme
a few sprigs of rosemary
Extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
cooking twine
Directions
Take the chicken out of the fridge 1 hour before you plan on putting it in the oven to let it come to room temperature (take out the giblets unless you plan on roasting that too).
preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
After 1 hour, pat down the chicken thoroughly with paper towels (try and pat under the skin without ripping the skin).
Place the chicken on a sheet pan lined with tin foil and drizzled with olive oil.
Season generously with salt and pepper.
take about a tbsp of olive oil at a time and rub down the chicken with it (under the skin too). Take more olive oil as needed, but avoid over doing it.
slice the lemon and orange into thin slices.
Begin stuffing the lemon and oranges under the skin of the chicken, inside the cavity, and directly under the chicken. Repeat with the sprigs of thyme and rosemary, and the garlic and onions.
Truss the chicken and follow this video
After trussing the chicken, place it in the oven. Baste the chicken every 20 mins.
After approximately 45 mins, the chicken should be perfect! However, a useful rule of thumb to know when the chicken is fully cooked is when the juices run clear… Works perfectly every time!
Take the chicken out and let sit for 10 mins before cutting into it.
Serve and enjoy!
