Garlic Herb Butter Roasted Chicken

I just can’t help myself any longer.  You all are getting a roasted chicken recipe today.  A garlic herb butter roasted chicken recipe, I might add.

 I know you might all be recovering from a green beer induced hang-over of St. Patrick’s Day Thursday, in which case you might prefer eating something a little more carby and a little more cheesey.  (In which case, let me forward you to your nearest In-N-Out Burger…)

But hear me out.  (If your hung over brain will let you.  If not, pause, pin, and return another time).  Because you will most definitely want to make this one.This little chicken is slathered with butter, garlic, and herbs.

Liberally.  Both under and over the skin.

And showered with salt and pepper.  And then roasted to crispy, golden, tender perfection.

I don’t want to brag, but I’m going to brag.  I think this is the best roasted chicken recipe I have ever made or encountered.There are no tricks, tips, or fussy brines.  My recipe includes only acquisition of high quality meat, simple preparation, and correct cooking times.  And butter.  (Always that).

But for a little clarification on the recipe method- I always cook my chicken in my dutch oven (as I currently lack an “official” roasting pan due to limited storage capacity in my kitchen).  This works well for me, but please note that you won’t get a crispy bottom on your bird.  If this bothers you, you might want to invest in a roasting pan with a rack to allow air to circulate entirely around the bird. If you don’t really care about it, follow my lead.One critical component that I definitely recommend is timing your chicken by using a meat thermometer.  I have attempted to roast sans thermometer in the past, but will never again after that one Thanksgiving my friend Emily and I roasted a chicken for our friends and it came out vaguely pink-ish.  And of course I didn’t notice until after people were already eating the chicken.. Yuck!  Luckily no one got sick… (that I heard).

For a correctly and thoroughly (yet juicy) roasted bird- the goal temperatures are 170 degrees for the thickest portion of the thigh meat, and 165 degrees for the breast meat.  I read somewhere that you want to estimate about 20 minutes of cook time per pound of chicken (if roasting at 400 degrees), and this seems fairly accurate from my personal experience.So hopefully this inspires you to roll up your sleeves and remember that roasting can be a wonderfully simple and delicious method for cooking chicken.  Especially when butter, garlic, and herbs are involved.

Enjoy!

Garlic Herb Butter Roasted Chicken

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Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 1 hr 40 mins

Ingredients

  

• 1 5 lb chicken
• 1 tablespoon garlic paste about 2 small cloves of garlic, grated on microplane grater
• 1 tablespoon minced rosemary
• 2 tablespoons minced thyme
• 3 tablespoons minced chives
• 4 tablespoons butter softened
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• In a small bowl combine garlic paste, minced herbs, and softened butter. Mix thoroughly with a spoon or fork.
• To prepare the chicken- bring to room temperature and dry thoroughly. Salt and pepper the bird all over.
• Using your hands, smear the bird all over with the garlic herb butter. With your fingers, gently separate the skin from the breast meat and smear extra garlic herb butter under the skin. Repeat with the thigh meat- note: you may need to cut small slits in the skin on the underside of the bird to be able to tuck the butter between the thigh meat and skin.
• Truss the bird with cooking twine.
• Place in roaster or cast iron skillet and roast, covered, for 40 minutes, and uncovered for 60 minutes. (Or if you have a different sized bird, a good rule of thumb is about 20 minutes per pound).
• Baste every 20 minutes (or, if you're like me, whenever you remember) with pan juices and melted butter.
• Your chicken will be finished when thigh meat temperature reads 170 and breast meat temperature is at least 165.