Have you ever tried to roast a whole chicken? Today we’ll learn how to roast a large whole chicken in the oven. We’ll prepare Whole Roast Lemon Chicken with butter and rosemary, the perfect recipe to make a lovely impression at the table while keeping costs moderate. The whole roast chicken is a real grandmother’s recipe that tastes like home, family and celebration, typically served with the classic side of Quick Roasted Potatoes. My kids go crazy for Roast Chicken with Potatoes, especially when I serve it whole, because presented that way it immediately feels festive. Over the years I’ve made several versions, from Whole Roast Chicken with Orange and Apples to Air Fryer Roast Chicken with Mustard and Honey. In this special collection about How to Cook Chicken you’ll find many more versions. Today, to enrich our collection, I want to tell you how I made roast chicken with butter and lemon, cooked whole: golden, very tender and flavorful, perfect for special days like Christmas, Easter and New Year’s, as well as for Sunday lunch. Are you ready? Let’s go to the kitchen — the lemon and rosemary roast chicken with its golden crust and tender, juicy meat will win you over from the first simple, succulent bite. Before we roll up our sleeves, remember that you can follow my Facebook page (here) and my Instagram profile (here) to stay updated on all my recipes.
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Budget-friendly
- Rest time: 15 Minutes
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 8
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients to make whole roast lemon chicken
- 1 chicken (large, about 7.7 lb (3.5 kg) or slightly more)
- 3 lemons
- 6 tbsp butter
- to taste salt
- to taste black pepper
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 6 leaves bay leaves
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 glass white wine
- 2 onions (medium)
- 2 oz Taggiasca olives
- 2.6 lb potatoes
- to taste salt
- to taste black pepper
- to taste rosemary
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
Tools
- Oven
- Roasting pan
- Pot
- Stove
- Thermometer
Let’s find out how to roast a whole chicken
For this recipe I bought a large chicken weighing 3,700 g (about 8.2 lb) and cooked it for 3 hours and a little more. Keep in mind that to cook 1 kg (2.2 lb) of chicken you need about one hour, so for smaller chickens you can reduce the cooking time.
Start by preparing the chicken: simply remove any pockets of fat located at the lower part near the tail (do not remove the tail), then use a kitchen torch or a lighter to singe any remaining feathers.
Soften the butter in the microwave or at room temperature, add salt, pepper, lemon zest, the juice of one lemon and honey, and mix well.
Peel, rinse and roughly chop the onions, then place them inside the chicken along with a sprig of rosemary and three bay leaves.
Also add 3–4 slices of lemon (with the peel), the olives and one tablespoon of the butter mixture you prepared.
Gently separate the skin from the breast by inserting your hand at the top, being careful not to tear it; put some butter under the skin and massage it in. Tie the chicken with kitchen twine — refer to the video above if any steps are unclear. Massage the remaining butter over the surface of the chicken, both on top and underneath.
Place the chicken in a roasting pan, garnish with extra lemon slices, rosemary and bay leaves, pour the wine over it and sprinkle with a little salt.
Cover with parchment paper and foil and place in the oven at 392°F (200°C) for 2 hours, keeping it covered. After 2 hours remove the paper and continue cooking at 356°F (180°C) for at least another hour, basting occasionally with the cooking juices. A good kitchen thermometer is really helpful to check the internal temperature of the meat: it should not be below 165°F (74°C), but I usually aim for around 176°F (80°C).
While the chicken is cooking prepare the side dish. Peel the potatoes, rinse them, cut them into chunks and parboil for 7–8 minutes in lightly salted boiling water.
Drain the potatoes, transfer them to a baking dish, dress generously with oil, salt, pepper and rosemary. Once the chicken is out of the oven and resting, roast the potatoes at 446°F (230°C) for about 20 minutes.
Bring the chicken to the table and carve it, serving alongside the potatoes.
Storage and tips
As mentioned above, meat typically cooks at about 1 hour per kg (about 2.2 lb), starting from room temperature. If the meat is cold, cooking times will increase. One sign that the chicken is done can be the onion placed inside — if it is soft and cooked through, the chicken will be too.
Leftover roast chicken keeps in the fridge for 2 days when stored in an airtight container; the potatoes should be eaten immediately.
Do not prepare the chicken too far in advance, it will lose its juiciness and can become dry when reheated, especially the breast.
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