Oven Roasted Chicken with Lemon Rosemary Garlic Butter
This perfectly tender and juicy whole oven roasted chicken gets brushed with a fresh lemon rosemary garlic butter and stuffed with aromatics for extra flavor. It's perfect for Sunday dinner, but easy enough for a weeknight!
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword Baked Chicken, Whole Chicken
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time 1 hourhour10 minutesminutes
Servings 6
Calories 427kcal
Ingredients
one 4-5poundchickenat room temperature, giblets and neck removed from cavity
2onionsquartered
1head of garliccut in half plus 3 garlic cloves minced
3lemons2 cut in half and remaining half sliced into thin slices
4tablespoonsunsalted butter*softened
2teaspoonsgrated lemon zest
2fresh rosemary sprigs plus 1 sprig minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
½cupwhite wine
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 425°F and position a rack in the lower third of the oven. Mix the butter with minced rosemary, 3 cloves of minced garlic, lemon zest, salt and pepper.
Pat the chicken dry and rub half of the butter, garlic and lemon zest mixture under the skin and the rest over the chicken and season with salt and pepper. Generously season cavity of chicken with salt and pepper and stuff with lemon half, ½ head of garlic, 2-3 quarters of onion and 2 rosemary sprigs. Truss legs with cooking twine and tuck wings under bird.
Place chicken in a roasting pan breast-side-up with the remaining onion, garlic, lemons and herbs. Add ½ cup of white wine.
Roast for 30 minutes or until the breast is firm and just beginning to brown in spots. Using tongs, turn the chicken breast-down, baste with juices and roast for 20 minutes longer, until the skin is lightly browned. Using tongs, turn the chicken breast-side-up and baste again. Add ½ cup of water if wine has evaporated. Roast for about 20 minutes longer, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the inner thigh registers 155°F to 160°F and juices are running clear.
Transfer the bird to a cutting board and tent with foil. Remove aromatics and vegetables from the cavity, carve the chicken and serve.