| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 2 hr 10 min |
| Prep: | 20 min |
| Inactive: | 20 min |
| Cook: | 1 hr 30 min |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 (5 to 6 pound) roasting chicken
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large bunch fresh thyme, plus 20 sprigs
- 1 lemon, halved
- 1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise
- 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted
- 1 large yellow onion, thickly sliced
- 4 carrots cut into 2-inch chunks
- 1 bulb of fennel, tops removed, and cut into wedges
- Olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all 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. Place the onions, carrots, and fennel in a roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.
- Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes. Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 615 |
| Total Fat | 44 g |
| Saturated Fat | 13 g |
| Carbohydrates | 13 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Sugar | 4 g |
| Protein | 41 g |
| Cholesterol | 203 mg |
| Sodium | 994 mg |
Reviews
We love this recipe. My kids call it ‘lemon butt chicken’
Perfection!
I have never left a recipe review before, in part because I rarely cook. But when I do, this is what I make. In my house this is known as “Mama’s Secret Famous Roast Chicken”. It is a straightforward recipe that makes “shove your sister away to pick at the carcass” delicious chicken. The skin is crispy. I gave this recipe to a friend, who made it for her husband. He said it was so good that it made him feel like he should be wearing a tie in order to eat it. I do potatoes instead of fennel. Parboil them first.
I’ve made this multiple times and it’s a crowd pleaser every time!!! Only addition is that I add a little chicken broth to the pan.
Perfect! No fennel added whole small potatoes. Delish
Best chicken I’ve ever tasted or made. Wouldn’t change on thing about this recipe!
An easy and delicious recipe for roast chicken. I modify the baste, adding olive oil to the butter. Also added baby gold potatoes to supply a starch to complement the carrots, fennel and onion. When done, it looks as good as it tastes!
This was delicious and everyone raved about it! Omitted carrots and doubled the fennel, also added halved new potatoes. My husband wanted more carbs with dinner, so he sauteed a few pierogis in the roasting pan/chicken fat while the chicken and veggies were resting. Amazing.
Simple and so good. Add whatever veggies you have on hand — we like adding quartered Yukon Gold potatoes. I’ve made this as directed as well as on convection oven and I suggest not using convection because it cooks too fast and over-crisps the veggies.
Very good eating