| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 55 min |
| Prep: | 20 min |
| Cook: | 1 hr 35 min |
| Yield: | 3 to 4 servings |
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 55 min |
| Prep: | 20 min |
| Cook: | 1 hr 35 min |
| Yield: | 3 to 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 (5 to 6-pound) roasting chicken
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large bunch fresh thyme
- 4 lemons
- 3 heads garlic, cut in 1/2 crosswise
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1/2 pound sliced bacon
- 1 cup white wine
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pinfeathers and pat the outside dry. Place the chicken in a large roasting pan. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the thyme, reserving enough thyme to garnish the chicken dish, 1 lemon, halved, and 2 halves of the garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Cut 2 of the lemons in quarters and scatter the quarters and remaining garlic around the chicken. Lay the bacon slices over the chicken to cover.
- Roast the chicken for 1 hour. Remove the bacon slices from the top of the chicken and set aside. Continue roasting the chicken for an additional 1/2 hour, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove to a platter and cover with aluminum foil while you prepare the gravy.
- Remove all but 2 tablespoons of the fat from the bottom of the pan. Add the wine and chicken stock and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes, or until reduced by half.
- Slice the chicken on a platter. Garnish the chicken platter with the bacon slices, roasted garlic, reserved thyme and 1 lemon, sliced. Serve with the gravy.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 1394 |
| Total Fat | 98 g |
| Saturated Fat | 31 g |
| Carbohydrates | 26 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Sugar | 4 g |
| Protein | 90 g |
| Cholesterol | 445 mg |
| Sodium | 2105 mg |
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 1394 |
| Total Fat | 98 g |
| Saturated Fat | 31 g |
| Carbohydrates | 26 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Sugar | 4 g |
| Protein | 90 g |
| Cholesterol | 445 mg |
| Sodium | 2105 mg |
Reviews
This is my all time fav roast chicken recipe!!! I get so frustrated sometimes with my mom because she’s always so critical about the way I cook, BUT…I felt like I finally won the lottery when she actually came out and told me that she loved it! I really love the flavor profile and the acidity from the lemons, but if you’re not a lemon person, then you might want to cut back on how many you use. Ina rocks my socks!
Delicious! I did a very light layer of olive oil in place of the butter and used prosciutto instead of the bacon.
Another over the top Ina recipe !! This was simply excellent! I added the chicken broth when I removed the bacon (as pan was dry and garlic caramelizing). I served with corn niblets with the gravy (yum), as well as lemon arugula salad from her Lemon Parmigiana recipe. Just amazing. Thank you Ina for adding another dish to our favourites list !
Cook as directed and your results will be sublime. Served with mashed potato and haricot vert. Delicious! Looking forward to leftovers which should be even better.
I’ve been roasting my whole chickens according to Ina’s directions shown here for twelve years; one chicken every week fall through spring. My family raves about them. My finesse points: find or buy just the right size dish so the lemons and garlic squeeze in but are mainly nestled under the chicken. If they’re highly exposed, they will carbonize. Don’t salt and pepper the top of the chicken until you’ve removed the bacon. Otherwise, it all comes off on the bacon and is not felicitous there.
Made this chicken recipe 1 time before and it was a hit. Now I’m making it for the second time. Very very yummy!
Made this tonight! All I can say is OUT OF THIS WORLD! I’m recovering from Covid. Have very little tastes. The texture, flavor, and comfort of this was amazing! I will never make another roast chicken! LOVE the edible lemons! Love Ina and her recipes
I don’t often do recipe reviews, but this was the best roast chicken I’ve ever made. The breast was moist, and the whole thing was just delicious! I loved the lemon pan gravy too.
This is the only roast chicken recipe you will ever need. The magic comes from the lemon halves in the cavity. If you use them to plug both ends, it keeps the bird incredibly moist. One note is that i usually end up having to tent the veggies for the 2nd half of roasting to prevent them from burning.
Awesome