Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme…. Yes, you can sing that, but you can also grow these cold-hardy herbs in the winter! There are more than twenty winter herbs that can be grown at home and are in season. You can use all thyme in this recipe or mix other fresh herbs. A butter, olive oil, and lemon juice marinade helps infuse the herb flavor into the chicken as it cooks and gives it a crispy outside and juicy inside.
For more health information on thyme, click here.
Thyme and Lemon Roasted Chicken
Makes 6 servings
Ingredients:
1 (3- 5 pound) whole chicken, air chilled* if possible, at room temperature** and patted dry.
1/4 cup European butter (Kerry Gold) at room temperature
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice, reserve the squeezed lemons
1/4 cup or 4 Tablespoons) thyme leaves chopped (or other chopped winter herbs) divided
Kosher salt
Ground pepper
Instructions:
- Remove the chicken giblets and let the chicken get to room temperature. In the meantime, make the butter marinade by combining the softened butter, olive oil, lemon juice, and 1/4 cup of chopped thyme.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Pat dry the room temperature chicken inside and out. Place in an oven-proof rimmed pan or skillet. Sprinkle the cavity generously with kosher salt and pepper. Add the squeezed lemon halves to the cavity. Tie the legs together with twine to keep the breast meat from drying out on the inside. Loosen the skin on top of the chicken with a teaspoon turned upside down. Spread about 1/3 of the butter marinade under the skin and the rest all over the outside of the chicken. Sprinkle again with kosher salt and pepper.
- Place the chicken in the oven on the middle rack and lower the temperature to 375 degrees F. Cook for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, depending on size. The chicken is done when an internal temperature on a thermometer inserted into the meatiest part of the thigh reads 165° F.
- When done, rest the roasted chicken uncovered for about 15 minutes. This helps moisture to be reabsorbed back into the meat. Serve with pan juices.
*Air chilling means that after processing, the chicken was air cooled and not cooled in water. This will be on the label. Water soaking can dilute flavor and increase the risk of cross contamination.
**If you roast a cold chicken it will cook unevenly and the outside may dry out before the inside is done.
Adapted from tasteofhome.com
