Who doesn’t love a big, herbaceous whole-roasted chicken? The prep for this recipe takes just 5 minutes and finishes itself in the oven while you settle in for the night. If your chicken sits higher than the top of your pot, arrange the vegetables off to the sides and nestle the bird down to close the lid without it touching the top of the chicken.
Ingredients
1Whole chicken13 - 5 lb
1Lemon
Salt and Pepper To taste
1bunch fresh thyme
1bunchfresh sage
2tbspButtermelted
2tbspoilwe prefer olive or grapeseed
2lbAssorted root vegetablespotatoes and carrots are our favorite
Garnish
1tspFinely chopped rosemary
1tspFinely chopped fresh thyme
1tspFinely chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
Take 3 sprigs of thyme and 4 sage leaves from your bunches and roughly chop.
Preheat the oven to 425F. In a small bowl, mix together the oil, melted butter, sage, thyme, salt and pepper. Zest the lemon into this mixture and taste, adjusting with more salt and pepper, to taste.
Check to see that there is nothing in the cavity of the chicken, remove all giblets. Pat your chicken dry using paper towels. Cut the zested lemon in half and stuff it and the remaining whole sage and fresh thyme inside the cavity. Tie the legs together with butcher’s twine.
Rub the butter and oil mixture all over the bird. Place the chicken in a Dutch oven, breast-side up. Roast, covered, for about 25 minutes. While this is cooking, cut your root vegetables in 1-1/2’ cubes.
Remove the cover and turn the heat down to 375F. Remove the Dutch oven (carefully) and sprinkle the cubed vegetables underneath the chicken.
Continue baking the chicken for 30-35 more minutes.
Once cooked, you want your internal temperature to reach 165 degrees, remove from the oven and let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before removing it from the pot.
Take the chicken and let it rest on a cutting board. Toss the chopped herbs into the root vegetables. Season with salt and pepper. Cut the chicken up and serve with vegetables.