Representative photo: Roast chicken by adactio, CC BY 2.0

Classic Roast Chicken with Lemon, Garlic and Herbs

Name: Classic Roast Chicken with Lemon, Garlic and Herbs
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 1 h 20 min
Total time: 1 h 35 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 1 pasture-raised organic whole chicken (about 2 kg); 2 tsp coarse salt and black pepper; 60 g soft butter; 1 lemon, halved; 1 head garlic, halved crosswise; A few sprigs thyme and rosemary; 2 onions, thickly sliced; 1 cup organic chicken bone broth, for the gravy; 1 tbsp flour

A perfect roast chicken, with crackling golden skin and juicy meat, is one of the simplest and most satisfying meals you can make. Pasture-raised organic chickens move, forage and grow slowly, which gives firmer texture and far more flavor than a supermarket bird.

Prep15 min
Cook80 min
Total95 min
Servings4

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Ingredients

1 pasture-raised organic whole chicken (about 2 kg) $270
2 tsp coarse salt and black pepper
60 g soft butter
1 lemon, halved
1 head garlic, halved crosswise
A few sprigs thyme and rosemary
2 onions, thickly sliced
1 cup organic chicken bone broth, for the gravy $235
1 tbsp flour

Instructions

If you have time, salt the chicken all over and leave it uncovered in the fridge for 8 to 24 hours for extra-crisp skin.
Heat the oven to 220 °C (425 °F). Pat the chicken dry and rub it with the butter and pepper.
Stuff the cavity with the lemon, garlic and herbs and tie the legs together.
Lay the onions in a roasting pan and set the chicken on top, breast up.
Roast 60 to 75 minutes, until the skin is deep golden and the thigh reaches 74 °C (165 °F). Rest 15 minutes.
For the gravy, set the pan over the heat, stir the flour into the juices, whisk in the bone broth and simmer 3 minutes. Strain.
Carve and serve with the gravy, roasted onions and squeezed roasted lemon.