Try this Rosemary Lemon Roast Chicken recipe, or contribute your own.
- Carbohydrate 0.231825 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 0.023695 g
- Fiber 0.136675000667572 g
- Protein 0.0502725 g
- Saturated Fat 0.0087025 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (2g)
- Sodium 581.4875 mg
- Sugar 0.095149999332428 g
- Trans Fat 0.00648175 g
- Calories 1 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat the oven to 400 degree F.
- Place the chicken pieces skin side down in an 9x13 baking dish.
- Season all pieces generously with salt, pepper, olive oil and a quarter of the lemon zest.
- Turn pieces skin side up and season again generously with salt, pepper, olive oil and the rest of the lemon zest.
- Place the herbs and lemon slices on top of the chicken.
- Roast until the skin is browned and the juices run clear, about 35 to 40 minutes.
Standard roast chicken recipes often call for roasting a whole bird trussed with butcher's twine, but breaking down the poultry into eight distinct serving pieces alters the cooking dynamics significantly. Sectioning the bird maximizes surface area exposed to direct heat, allowing the skin to render fat more efficiently than a whole cavity can manage. Lactic and citric acids from the lemon slices interact with the lipid breakdown during roasting, while volatile aromatic compounds in the rosemary and thyme dissolve into the rendered oils to season the meat.
- Bake the chicken in an 9x13 glass or ceramic baking dish preheated to 400 degrees Fahrenheit to jump-start skin crisping.
- Roast the cut-up pieces for 35 to 40 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit in the thickest part of the meat.
- Substitute bone-in, skin-on turkey thighs at a one-to-one ratio if poultry preferences require a different cut, though cooking times will extend by roughly 15 minutes.
- Store leftover roasted pieces in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days.
Dividing the bird into individual portions ensures even heat penetration without drying out the breast meat before the dark meat finishes cooking. Proper fat rendering depends entirely on maintaining dry skin before the olive oil and seasonings are applied.
