The BEST Roasted Herby Lemon Chicken

I truly believe there is nothing better than a roasted chicken. It is flavorful, makes your house smell amazing, tastes like home, and provides leftovers for days to come- plus you can use the leftover bones for bone broth! This recipe takes no time at all to prep and is one of my favorite meals. You can do the roast by itself or add some potatoes, carrots, celery and onion for a full meal. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 4 lb chicken whole chicken
• 2 lemons
• 1 1/4 tbsp of Kinder’s Lemon Pepper Seasoning (or any you have on hand)
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp Frontier Co-Op Poultry Seasoning (or any poultry seasoning)
• 1 tsp Simply Organics Citrus Rosemary Finishing Salt (can substitute w/ any citrus blend + a few sprinkles of rosemary)
• 1 tsp of the Spice House’s Garlic Pepper Butcher’s Blend (or can sub with garlic salt, bell pepper, & parsley seasoning or skip)
• 1/2 tsp of: sage, thyme, savory, parsley & majoram – you could also use 2 1/2 tsp of Italian Seasoning instead to replicate the same flavor with less spice bottles
• 1/2 tsp of Trader Joe’s Onion Salt (any chive, onion, garlic salt mixture will work)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp + a little extra of olive oil

Instructions:

1. This first step is the MOST important for achieving juicy chicken! 24 hours before you wish to cook your chicken, put it on a baking sheet or in a pan and cover the whole chicken with salt including the cavity. Do not skimp on the salt! This creates a “salt brine” which locks in moisture! I use a combination of salt and the Simply Organics Citrus Rosemary Finishing Salt- but you can use only salt if you’d like. Cover the chicken with wrap and put it back into the fridge to sit in the salt brine until the next day.
2. 1 hour before cooking the chicken, take it out of the fridge, letting it come to room temperature to ensure even cooking in the oven.
3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (F).
4. In a baking dish, drizzle olive oil and using your hands spread it out evenly over the dish, creating a non-stick layer.
5. Place your chicken into your baking dish, pat the chicken with paper towel until it is bone dry, this might rub off some of the salt- that’s okay. The goal is to get the chicken as dry as possible on the outside to produce a crispy, golden brown skin.
6. In a small bowl combine the 2 tablespoons of olive oil with all of the herbs, spices, and finishing salt listed above. Combine all ingredients well, creating an herby paste.
7. Take small spoonfuls of the herby paste and evenly coat the entire chicken including the top, bottom, sides, and put a little into the middle cavity, using your hands to evenly spread the paste onto the chicken.
8. Cut both lemons into quarters, and place the quartered lemons into the chicken cavity.
9. Top the chicken with a sprinkle of salt and pepper (should not need much at this point, if you are trying to eat less salt, you can skip this step).
10. Place the chicken into the oven to cook at 400 degrees F for 60-80 minutes. Check the chicken at 60 minutes and place back into the oven if needed. Internal temperature of chicken must reach 165 degrees F. At the 60 minute mark, if your chicken begins to brown more than you’re liking, you can always cover the top of your dish with aluminum foil to prevent burning or a “charred” look.
11. After chicken has reached 165 degrees F, let rest for 15 minutes before eating to let the juices redistribute, enjoy!!