This lemon garlic roast chicken is packed with flavor, super juicy, and crispy on the outside. Seasoned with rosemary, garlic, and brined overnight, this might be the best-roasted chicken recipe you’ll find.
Made with just a handful of ingredients and tastes way better than any store-bought rotisserie chicken! Enjoy this with creamy mashed potatoes and honey roasted carrots.
This roasted chicken was the most tender and juicy chicken recipe I’ve ever made. I brined it overnight and made sure to take it out as soon as the thermometer read 165 F.
How Long To Roast?
This all depends on how big the chicken is. When roasting a whole chicken at 400 degrees F. I like to roast it for 20 minutes per pound. Make sure to cover the breasts with aluminum foil and use kitchen twine to tie the chicken legs. Please use a meat thermometer. The safe internal temperature for cooked chicken is 165 degrees.
Do I Need To Rinse The Chicken?
Although this is very controversial, the answer is no. The heat from the oven will kill all bacteria. However, if it makes you happy, feel free to rinse it. Just make sure you sanitize the kitchen afterward since a lot of bacteria may spread throughout the kitchen with the splashing of water.
Is Kitchen Twine Required?
No, it isn’t. You may tie up the legs using aluminum foil or any type of string. In fact, you can completely skip that step and not tie up the legs. Although, tying the chicken legs helps the chicken from drying out.
If you enjoyed this ridiculously delicious lemon garlic roast chicken recipe then you will love these juicy oven-baked chicken thighs. These creamy smothered chicken thighs are another favorite! You can also find other delicious recipes and cooking tutorial videos on Youtube and Facebook.
Lemon Garlic Roast Chicken
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup salt
- 6 1/2 cups water
- 5-6 lb whole chicken
- 5 garlic cloves
- 2 lemons
- 4 ounces butter
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 sprig rosemary
Instructions
- In a large pot combine 6 cups water and kosher salt.
- Rinse and pat dry the chicken.
- Place the chicken in the large pot and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours.
- Rinse the chicken and pat dry it with a paper towel and let the chicken come to room temperature.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- In a small bowl, mix the softened unsalted butter, chopped garlic, the juice of 1 lemon, salt, and pepper.
- Rub the butter mixture under the skin and outside of the chicken leaving about 2 tbsp behind for basting. Sprinkle some extra salt on the skin.
- Cover the chicken breast with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
- Baste the chicken with the leftover butter mixture.
- Cover the breast with the foil, place the chicken back in the oven, while basting every 20 minutes.
- Uncover the breast after cooking the chicken for 45 minutes.
- Cook until the thickest part of the chicken reaches 165 degrees F.
- Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes covered before carving.
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