July 9, 2024

Classic Roast Chicken

5.0 from 1 vote

Last Updated on October 20, 2024 by Elby | The Tasteful Pantry

This Classic Roast Chicken recipe provides a mouth watering aroma, tender meat and crispy skin. It takes no time to prepare and uses simple easy-to-get ingredients, such as rosemary, garlic, onion and lemon inside the cavity to flavour the meat. Try serving with my Crispy Semolina Potatoes. The roast chicken also pairs well with Mashed Potato with Garlic & Thyme.

Roast dinner on a Sunday is a tradition for many. But why stop at Sunday? Any night of the week is great for a Classic Roast Chicken. Serve with traditional roast vegetables and gravy or it also works well with salad for a fresh summer option.

The Roast Chicken Process

Ingredients

Whole chicken
unsalted butter, softened
salt
pepper
sweet paprika
lemon, halved or quartered
sprigs of rosemary
onion, peeled and quartered
garlic, whole and peeled

Method

Preheat the oven and place a roasting rack inside a large pan, ready for the seasoned chicken.
Wash the chicken and remove any yucky inside parts. Pat dry with paper towel.
Using your fingers, very carefully lift the skin from the breast and thighs away from the meat – trying not to rip any holes as you do so.
In a small bowl, mix the butter, salt, pepper and paprika. Make sure the butter is soft so it will easily spread on the chook. Using your hands, spread ¾ of the butter mix under the skin – across both breasts and thighs. If the chicken is cold, the butter will become hard when you start inserting the blend under the skin. It’ll just take a bit of work to get the butter off your fingers and onto the chicken. But don’t stress if it is not even. Wipe the remaining butter all over the outside of the chicken.
Place the chicken on the roasting rack, breast side up. The lemon, rosemary, onion and garlic are used to flavour the chicken meat, but you can also serve the onion and garlic with the chicken.
Use the remaining rosemary sprig to close the cavity. Poke the stem through the skin on both sides. This step may not be necessary if the stuffing ingredients stay inside the cavity. In which case, also place the 4th sprig of rosemary into the cavity, with the others.
Roast the chicken. Check at the 50 minute mark to see if it is cooked. The temperature of the chicken breast should be 165F or dig into the thickest part of the thigh meat and the juices should run clear.
Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Feedback & More

Did you try the Classic Roast Chicken? Let me know in the comments below. Cheers, Elby!

If you liked this recipe, check out some of my other Classics. Also, follow The Tasteful Pantry on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest for all the latest recipes and info.