Whole Roasted Chicken with Onion, Garlic and Thyme
Author: Abel To Cook
Recipe type: Entrees
Serves: 3-4
Ingredients
- A 4 to 6 pound whole roasting chicken (I used Miller Amish Country Poultry)
- Freshly ground pepper
- 1 large bunch of fresh thyme (about 30 sprigs)
- 1 large head of garlic (I used the colossal garlic for this because the cloves are so large, but regular garlic will work too)
- 1 small to medium yellow onion, quartered
- 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter
- 4 tablespoons of lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degree
- Remove the chicken giblets if they are present. Remove any excess fat and skin and pat the outside dry with a paper towel.
- Liberally pepper the inside of the chicken.
- Place the chicken on a roasting rack or in a roasting pan.
- Peel the garlic and separate into individual cloves. Peel each clove and stuff them into the cavity.
- Take the thyme and fold the long sprigs in half and stuff them into the cavity.
- Take the quartered onion and stuff them into the cavity.
- If the legs are floppy, tie them together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken if they’re not tightly against it already.
- Melt the butter in the microwave for about one minute.
- Add the lemon juice to the butter and mix well.
- Pour the butter and lemon mixture over the chicken and rub it into the outer skin thoroughly. You can use a brush for this, but I find you get the chicken more thoroughly coated using your hands.
- Roast the chicken for 1 to 1 ½ hours or until the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and thigh.
- Remove chicken from the oven and place on a platter or carving board.
- Cover the chicken with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes.
- Slice the chicken and serve with the cooked onions from the chicken cavity.
