Toss chopped garlic, lemon, onion, and thyme sprigs together in a small bowl. Set aside.
Rinse chicken under cold water and pat the outside and cavity dry using paper towels.
Stand the bird legs-up and sprinkle 2 teaspoons of kosher salt into the cavity. Stuff the cavity with the citrus and vegetable mixture, filling it to capacity.
Tuck the wings under the back of the chicken and tie the drumstick ends together using cotton string or cotton twine. Sprinkle the outside of the chicken with kosher salt and fresh black pepper.
Place chicken on a wire rack in a medium-sized roasting pan.
Transfer chicken to preheated oven and roast for 1 hour or until an instant read thermometer reads an internal temperature of 180°F (73.9°C) in the thickest section of the breast.
Remove chicken from oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes before carving. Serve immediately.
Roasted Whole Chicken
Ingredients
1 roaster chicken, about 4 pounds
1 garlic bulb, roughly chopped
1 lemon, roughly chopped
½ Vidalia onion, chopped
3 thyme sprigs, chopped
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling
black pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Toss chopped garlic, lemon, onion, and thyme sprigs together in a small bowl. Set aside.
Rinse chicken under cold water and pat the outside and cavity dry using paper towels.
Stand the bird legs-up and sprinkle 2 teaspoons of kosher salt into the cavity. Stuff the cavity with the citrus and vegetable mixture, filling it to capacity.
Tuck the wings under the back of the chicken and tie the drumstick ends together using cotton string or cotton twine. Sprinkle the outside of the chicken with kosher salt and fresh black pepper.
Place chicken on a wire rack in a medium-sized roasting pan.
Transfer chicken to preheated oven and roast for 1 hour or until an instant read thermometer reads an internal temperature of 180°F (73.9°C) in the thickest section of the breast.
Remove chicken from oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes before carving. Serve immediately.
Roasted Whole Chicken
4.7 / 5. 3
A whole chicken stuffed with lemon, onion, garlic and thyme cooked in the oven on high heat…
Looking for a quick, easy meal idea? Let’s make ROASTED WHOLE CHICKEN!
This is one of those essential recipes deserving of great praise; knowing how to roast a whole chicken properly is truly a game changer. Sure, most speciality and grocery stores now offer roasted chicken in their prepared food or deli sections, but the meagre flavour of those birds pale in comparison to this recipe. Our method of making a ROASTED WHOLE CHICKEN is both easy and loaded with flavour.
Here’s the dish on roasting chicken:
1) We’re going to share our recommendation on what to look for in a chicken best suited for oven roasting.
2) We’ll detail an amazing way of boosting the flavor and juiciness of roasted chicken.
3) There’s an important direction about the perfect oven temperature for roasting to ensure a chicken that cooks with that glorious, rich, golden brown skin.
4) We’ve included a cooked chicken doneness guide to assist newbie chicken cookers.
Don’t forget, if you love chicken as much as we do, you’ve come to the right place. Make sure to circle back and check out some of our other delicious recipes like these tender TORTILLA CHICKEN FINGERS, our popular CHICKEN PARMIGIANA, this LEMON CHICKEN and our amazing CRISPY KOREAN CHICKEN. Make any and all, deliciousness is on the way!
Let’s continue with tips on how to make a ROASTED WHOLE CHICKEN:
INGREDIENTS
This may go down as one of the easiest ingredient lists ever. Yes, you’ll need a whole chicken, but it’s the add-ons used to create a stuffing that we want to point out. Make sure to add a whole lemon, a sweet onion, garlic, kosher salt, black pepper and fresh thyme to your grocery list. The sole purpose of the stuffing is to flavour the chicken as it roasts. These seven ingredients yield a tender, juicy chicken with lots of flavour.
WHAT’S THE BEST TYPE OF CHICKEN FOR ROASTING?
If you’re thinking, “I didn’t even know there were different kinds of chicken!” you’re not alone. The most common varieties of chickens bred for their meat are Cornish and White Rock. These birds are then graded by age and weight, as follows:
Broilers: Chickens are 6 to 8 weeks old weighing about 2½ pounds,
Fryers: Chickens 6 to 8 weeks old weighing 2½ to 3½ pounds,
Roasters: Chickens less than 8 months old weighing 3½ to 5 pounds
During the testing of this recipe, we found a medium-sized roaster bird, weighing about four pounds, worked best. It roasts evenly since the meat is distributed evenly around the chicken breast, thighs and drumsticks. When purchasing, look for a plump Grade A chicken with meaty breasts and drumsticks. Another consideration is to buy organic – they’re often more tender and flavourful. Lastly, prep steps for chicken: rinse the chicken under cool water, then dab or pat the cavity and outside with paper towel to dry.
FLAVOURFUL STUFFING
Just to be clear, this stuffing wasn’t created to serve as part of a complete chicken dinner. Instead, think of this flavourful stuffing as your secret weapon for taking the flavour of oven ROASTED WHOLE CHICKEN from simple to amazing. The stuffing itself is easy to create where we toss diced onion in a small bowl with chopped lemon wedges, chopped garlic cloves, fresh thyme, salt and pepper. This mélange of citrus, vegetables and fresh herbs then gets stuffed into the cavity of the chicken. Remember to first sprinkle the chicken cavity with kosher salt before adding the stuffing. As the chicken roasts, these ingredients mix and meld, flavouring the chicken and the pan juices too. Pro tip: You can use the pan drippings as au jus when you serve, or take a few moments to separate the fat from the liquid and make a delicious POULTRY GRAVY.
FRESH HERBS
We interrupt this program with an important announcement: your favourite herbs will work here. We crafted this chicken recipe using fresh thyme, but feel free to change up the flavour profile to suit your tastes. Try the recipe with fresh chives, tarragon, cilantro, oregano, basil and rosemary. The herbs you use will greatly affect the taste of the chicken, so experiment and find your favourites for the recipe.
HOW TO TRUSS A WHOLE CHICKEN
Once you’ve stuffed your chicken, we suggest trussing it. Watch this VIDEO for reference. If you’ve never trussed poultry before, fear not, it’s easy to accomplish. To begin, tuck the chicken wings under the breast. Then wrap kitchen twine or cotton butcher’s string around the end of one of the drumsticks. Pull the twine around the end of the other drumstick. The final step is to pull the twine and bring the legs together, tying them tightly to secure. A trussed bird maintains its shape, roasts more evenly, and remains moist and tender. After trussing, also add a sprinkle of kosher salt and pepper. This helps the skin get wonderfully crispy.
WHAT’S THE BEST TEMPERATURE FOR OVEN-ROASTING CHICKEN
Perhaps one of the most important considerations for oven ROASTED WHOLE CHICKEN is about temperature. For best results, roast your bird at 450°F. Roasting chicken in a hot oven sears the outside, sealing in all those juices, and ensures the stuffing cooks within. We also find placing the chicken on a wire rack within the roasting pan or dish lifts the bird up slightly so that the heat circulates around the entire chicken as it cooks. The outside will cook up wonderfully crispy, while the inside retains its moisture.
HOW TO TELL WHEN CHICKEN IS DONE
So now we have a choice bird, properly seasoned, stuffed and trussed. The chicken is roasting in a hot oven, but, how do you know when the chicken is done? Our cook time in this recipe was spot on, 60 60-minute total time. But, to ensure a properly cooked whole chicken that’s safe to eat, we’re sharing this doneness guide. Although poking the chicken with a fork or knife to check if the juices run clear may have worked back in the day, nowadays an instant-read thermometer is recommended. Our friends at CHICKEN CANADA explain: simply insert your food or meat thermometer into the thickest part of the chicken. For a whole chicken, insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the breast. You know your chicken is cooked when the thermometer reads 180°F (82°C) for a whole chicken. Look for that golden-brown skin. Chicken’s done, let’s eat!
Here’s this recipe’s bonus round: what do you do with leftover chicken? Let’s start with the chicken carcass. Similar to our LEFTOVER TURKEY SOUP recipe, simply place the carcass, giblets and any meatless bones into a pot of water along with onion, carrot and celery. Let the bones boil and then simmer for a few hours. Then strain to yield a robust, big-flavoured chicken stock. For any leftover chicken meat, a favourite chicken salad recipe is a great way to put it to use. Make this CLASSIC COBB SALAD or our CHICKEN WALDORF SALAD. Keep leftover chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator until use.
This recipe is so tasty, we suggest you PIN the recipe to a favourite main course or weeknight meal board on PINTEREST or BOOKMARK this tab for easy access. SHARE it with friends so they can make them too. We’d also appreciate seeing pics of all the delicious dishes you’re making these days. Use #weekendatthecottage when you post those pics on Facebook and Instagram. Thanks!
THE SPICE IS RIGHT!
Before sending you on your way to make this dish, it’s the perfect time for an update: our three SPICE BLEND GIFT SETS are now available in Canada on Amazon.ca! YES, you can use the POULTRY & PORK RUB to boost the flavour of this chicken recipe.
VEGGIE LOVERS (2-pack) – A packet of our POTATO & VEGGIE SEASONING plus a package of our GARLICKY SUN-DRIED TOMATO DIP; just add mayo and sour cream and you’ve got a delicious topping for tacos or a party dip that works with assorted veggies, tomatoes and bell peppers. Go HERE to order.
MEAT LOVERS (2-pack) – A packet of POULTRY & PORK RUB plus a package of our BUTCHER’S BLEND. Go HERE to order.
WEEKEND ESSENTIALS: The whole shebang, 1 packet of everything! A packet of POULTRY & PORK RUB, BUTCHER’S BLEND, POTATO & VEGGIE SEASONING and a GARLICKY SUN-DRIED TOMATO DIP. Go HERE to order.
Making a whole roasted chicken need not be a complicated affair, but rather a simple, trusted experience that produces one of the most enjoyable comfort foods ever.
ROASTED WHOLE CHICKEN – moist, tender, crispy-skinned deliciousness in every bite. Enjoy!
Cook Mode Use cook mode to keep your screen on while cooking.
Ingredients
1 roaster chicken, about 4 pounds
1 garlic bulb, roughly chopped
1 lemon, roughly chopped
½ Vidalia onion, chopped
3 thyme sprigs, chopped
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling
black pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Toss chopped garlic, lemon, onion, and thyme sprigs together in a small bowl. Set aside.
Rinse chicken under cold water and pat the outside and cavity dry using paper towels.
Stand the bird legs-up and sprinkle 2 teaspoons of kosher salt into the cavity. Stuff the cavity with the citrus and vegetable mixture, filling it to capacity.
Tuck the wings under the back of the chicken and tie the drumstick ends together using cotton string or cotton twine. Sprinkle the outside of the chicken with kosher salt and fresh black pepper.
Place chicken on a wire rack in a medium-sized roasting pan.
Transfer chicken to preheated oven and roast for 1 hour or until an instant read thermometer reads an internal temperature of 180°F (73.9°C) in the thickest section of the breast.
Remove chicken from oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes before carving. Serve immediately.