Herb Roasted Whole Chicken
Quick answer
- Total time
- 100 min
- Level
- Medium
- Servings
- 4 servings
- Ingredients
- 8
About this dish
Butter mixed with rosemary, thyme, and garlic is pushed under the breast skin, where it melts during roasting and coats the leanest part of the bird.
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A lemon and the remaining herbs go into the cavity. The oven starts hot to color the skin, then drops lower to cook the meat through, and the drippings left in the pan become the base for a gravy. Letting the bird rest before carving keeps the juices in the meat rather than on the board.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1
Soften 80 g butter at room temperature, then mix in chopped rosemary, thyme, garlic, and part of the salt until evenly spread through the butter. Keep the texture soft enough to smear without tearing the chicken skin.
- 2
Pat the 1.5 kg whole chicken very dry, especially over the breast and legs.
Gently loosen the skin over the breast with your fingers, moving slowly so the skin opens into a pocket without tearing.
- 3
Slide the herb butter under the loosened skin in portions, then press from the outside to spread it in a thin, even layer.
Rub the outside with the remaining salt and 2 teaspoons olive oil for browning.
- 4
Put the lemon and remaining rosemary and thyme into the cavity.
Place the chicken in a 220C preheated oven and roast for about 20 minutes, until the skin starts tightening and taking on clear golden color.
- 5
Lower the oven to 180°C and roast for about 60 minutes more.
Use a food thermometer to check the thickest breast, innermost thigh, and innermost wing, avoiding bone. All three areas must reach at least 74°C (165°F); keep roasting if any reading is lower.
- 6
Take the chicken out of the oven and rest it for 15 minutes before carving so the juices settle back into the meat.
Save the pan drippings for gravy, then carve cleanly along the joints and grain.
References checked
These references were consulted when this page was prepared or corrected. A source check does not mean the recipe was independently kitchen-tested.
- Chicken from Farm to Table: Safe Cooking
USDA FSIS · Checked: 2026-09-23
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