Roasted Lemon Chicken

Submitted by breezermom

"This recipe is easy enough to do on a weekday, and delicious enough to serve for a Sunday dinner. It creates a really great tasting, moist chicken with very little effort! Please note: for the thyme, Zaar didn't recognize 1 tbsp + 1 tsp fresh thyme."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 40mins
• Ingredients: 11
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 3 1⁄2 lbs roasting chickens
• 2 small lemons
• 1⁄3 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, minced (reduce by at least half if using dried thyme)
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced (reduce by at least half if using dried thyme)
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon pepper

• Garnish

• fresh parsley sprig

directions

1. Remove the giblets from the chicken, and rinse the chicken with cold water. Pat dry.
2. Punch holes in the lemon rinds with a wooden pick. Cut the lemons in half. Place the lemon halves in the cavity of the chicken. (Sometimes I add a quarter or two of onion or celery pieces here). Truss the chicken; place the chicken, breast side up, on a lightly greased baking rack in a shallow roasting pan. Insert a meat thermometer into the breast of the chicken, making sure it does not touch bone.
3. Combine the oil and the rest of the ingredients in a small bowl, stirring well. Brush the chicken with 1/4 cup of the oil mixture -- take the time to loosen the skin and rub some of the mixture into the meat, but make sure you oil the skin so it is deliciously brown and crisp.
4. Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees for 1 1/2 hours or until the meat thermometer registers 170 degrees, brushing occasionally with the remaining oil mixture. Remove the chicken to a serving platter. Let it rest for at least 5-10 minutes before carving.

Reviews

[Queen Dana]

This was very good. I like lemon and thyme together. Made for ZWT6.

 

[WiGal]

Simply delicious! Easy. Moist. I appreciate that I typically have these ingredients on hand. Served with recipe#420654 (a Moroccan dish). Thank you for posting breezermom. Made by an Unruly for Unrulies Under the Influence during tour of Greece.

 

[Chef Jean]

Perfect Chicken! Everyone of my 8 friends who had some of this raved about how good it tasted and how juicy it was. Thanks for posting such a simple and tasty recipe!

 

[Mia in Germany]

Excellent dish - made chicken with lemons and olive oill before, but without the addition of butter and without thyme. That really made a huge difference, this is so much better! Will always make it this way now. Thanks for posting, dear unrulie :) Made for ZWT6 Greece for the Unrulies Under The Influence.

 

[diner524]

Wow!!! What a great recipe and so simple to make. I had a 5 1/2 pound chicken and had to use ground thyme (fresh is currently growing) but otherwise, followed as written. I loved the combination of the lemon, thyme and garlic!! The chicken was nice and moist and so well flavored. I then used some of the pan drippings to make a gravy, which also was incredible, and served with mashed potatoes and corn. I did roast mine on the grill at 375 degrees so that probably added even more flavor. This is a definite repeat recipe. Made for your win in the Tic Tac Toe Game Forum Event.