Lemon Thyme Whole Roast Chicken Food

LEMON & THYME ROASTED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Mix minced thyme, salt, garlic powder and pepper. Place chicken on a rack in a shallow roasting pan, breast side up. Tuck wings under chicken; tie drumsticks together. Squeeze juice from lemon halves over chicken; sprinkle with thyme mixture., Loosely stuff chicken with squeezed lemon halves, onion, thyme sprigs and garlic. Roast 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until a thermometer inserted in thickest part of thigh reads 170°-175°. (Cover loosely with foil if chicken browns too quickly.), Remove chicken from oven; tent with foil. Let stand 15 minutes before carving. Serve with lemon wedges.

ROASTED CHICKEN WITH LEMON, GARLIC, AND THYME

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Rinse the chicken and pat it dry.
• In a small bowl, make a compound butter by combining the softened butter, minced thyme, garlic cloves, lemon zest, salt, and pepper.
• Season the cavity of the chicken generously with salt, and pepper. Stuff the cavity with the lemon quarters, a handful of fresh thyme leaves, and the quartered onion. Place the carrot, celery and onion in the bottom of a roasting pan and place the chicken on top of the vegetables. Cross the legs and tie with kitchen twine.
• Gently lift the skin away from the chicken and spread 2 tablespoons of the softened butter mixture underneath the skin, distributing it evenly. Spread the remaining butter over the entire surface of the chicken and season generously with salt, and pepper.
• Place the chicken in the oven and roast for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees F and roast the chicken until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the inner thigh, not touching the bone registers 160 to 165 degrees F, about 45 minutes. Transfer the chicken and vegetables to a cutting board to rest for about 15 minutes. Tent the chicken with aluminum foil to keep warm.
• Pour the pan juices into a large glass measuring cup. Spoon the fat off the top. Add the chicken broth to the roasting pan and place over high heat. Bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits. Return the pan juices to the pan. Whisk the flour into the broth mixture and bring to a boil until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Season the sauce to taste with salt, and pepper. Serve alongside the roast chicken.
• Roasted Chicken Variations:
• Honey-Glazed Chicken: Season the butter with 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, and 2 tablespoons honey.
• Soy-Ginger Chicken: Season the butter with 1 tablespoon minced garlic, 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, and 2 teaspoons soy sauce.

WHOLE ROAST CHICKEN WITH LEMON AND HERBS

Steps:

• Set a rack on the lower middle level of the oven and heat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Season the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity with the thyme sprigs, garlic, and one lemon half, squeezing the lemon as you insert it to release the juice into the cavity. Rub the butter all over the chicken skin, including undersides, then season once again with salt and pepper.
• Tie the ends of the drumsticks together with twine. Arrange the chicken breast-up on the rack in a roasting pan. Squeeze the juice of the remaining lemon half over the top of the chicken. (You can toss the lemon half into the roasting pan or discard it.)
• Place the roasting pan in the oven. After 15 minutes, reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F. When the chicken is beginning to brown rapidly, baste with accumulated pan juices.
• Add the onion, carrot, celery, and bay leaf to the roasting pan after 30 minutes. Continue roasting, basting several times, until the juices run clear when pierced at the thickest part of the thigh with a knife or if you tilt the chicken forward the juices that run out of the cavity are clear, an additional 45 to 60 minutes (1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours total roasting time). Transfer the chicken to a cutting board, cover loosely with foil, and let rest in a warm place to allow the juices to redistribute, about 15 minutes. To serve, remove the herbs and the lemon half from the cavity and discard. Reserve the garlic cloves and carve the chicken. Serve the chicken with the vegetables and reserved garlic cloves. (The bay leaf may be left for decoration or discarded.)

BRINED WHOLE CHICKEN WITH LEMON AND THYME

Steps:

• Make the brine--in a big pot, combine the sugar, salt, and dried thyme; squeeze the lemon juice into the pot and add the juiced lemon halves.
• Add 1 gallon of cold water and stir the mixture to dissolve the sugar and salt.
• Remove and discard the neck, giblets, wing tips, and any excess fat from the chicken; submerge teh chicken in the brine, breast side down, and cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours.
• Remove the chicken from the pot and discard the brine; pat the chicken dry with paper towels.
• Lightly brush the outside of the chicken with oil.
• Season with pepper inside and out.
• Place the garlic and fresh thyme in the cavity of the chicken; tie the legs together.
• Grill, breast side up, over Indirect Medium heat until the juices run clear and the internal temperature reaches 170° in the breast and 180° in the thickest part of the thigh, 1 1/2 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let rest for about 10 minutes before carving; serve warm.

WHOLE LEMON ROASTED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Thinly slice one lemon and set aside; then peel and juice the other lemon. In a small sauce pot, over low heat, add the butter and when melted, add in the lemon peel and 2 sprigs of thyme and cook until fragrant, about 1 to 2 minute Add in the lemon juice and lightly season with salt.
• Remove neck and giblets from chicken. Rinse the chicken under cold water then pat dry with paper towel. Using a syringe, inject half the butter into several spots of the chicken then brush the remaining butter over the chicken. Generously season inside and out with salt and pepper. Evenly sprinkle the garlic powder over the top then place the remaining thyme sprigs and lemon slices on top of the chicken in a single layer.
• Carefully place the chicken breast side up on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Place the chicken in the oven and roast uncovered for 20 min per pound or until juices run clear and a kitchen meat thermometer inserted in the inner thigh registers at least 180°F. (About 2 hours).
• Remove the chicken from the oven and let stand a few min before carving.

ROASTED CHICKEN WITH LEMON, GARLIC AND THYME

Steps:

• Let the butter and chicken stand at room temperature for 3o minutes or so.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Remove and discard any giblets, excess fat, and plastic pop-up timer, if there is one.
• To prevent burning, tuck the chicken's wing tips under the body.
• Season the cavity of the chicken, liberally, with salt and pepper.
• Roll the lemon back and forth on the counter to get the juices going. Pierce the entire surface of the lemon with the fork.
• Smash up the garlic cloves- the side of a knife does this well.
• Insert lemon, garlic and thyme into the cavity of the bird.
• Arrange the onion slices in the center of a heavy-duty roasting pan. (Arranging the onions in overlapping rows works great) Place the chicken on top with the breast side up. Tie the chicken legs together with kitchen twine.
• Spread the softened butter over the entire surface of the chicken. Season generously with salt and pepper.
• Roast the chicken until skin is crisp and the skin is a nice golden brown. The juices should run clear when the chicken is pierced with a fork- about 1 1/2 hours. The chicken will be cooked perfectly when an instant-read thermometer (inserted into the breast- then thigh) will read 165 degrees.
• Garnish with sprigs of thyme.

LEMON & THYME BUTTER-BASTED ROAST CHICKEN & GRAVY

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. In a small bowl, mash the butter with one-third of the thyme leaves, the mashed garlic and the juice of half a lemon. Mix everything together with some seasoning and set aside.
• Use your hand to loosen the chicken skin away from the breast, then push most of the butter mix into the gap. Rub the rest of the butter all over the outside of the chicken, then stuff the cavity with the lemon halves, remaining thyme leaves and stalks, and the garlic.
• Scatter the chopped carrot, onion and bay leaves over the base of a small roasting tin. Sit the chicken on top, breast-side up, and roast on the middle shelf for 1 hr 30 mins, basting with the buttery juices after about 40 mins. When the chicken is dark golden, crispy-skinned and the juices run clear, remove from the oven and leave in the tin for 5 mins. Use a pair of tongs to pull the lemons, garlic and thyme out of the cavity and into the tin. Lift the chicken up, letting any juices dribble into the tin, and transfer the chicken to a serving platter to rest for at least another 15 mins.
• To make the gravy, squeeze the juice out of the cooked lemon halves and discard the skins. Place the tin on a low heat, stir in flour and sizzle until light brown. Gradually pour in the stock and cook for a few mins. If you like a darker gravy, add a splash of soy sauce to the tin. Strain the gravy into a jug and serve with the chicken.