Now that fall is here, roast chicken has become a weekly staple in our home. Although you can always pick up prepared rotisserie chicken in your local supermarket, nothing beats making it yourself — and you’d be surprised at how easy it is to prepare.
Although most people roast chicken in the oven, I like to cook it on the grill during the summer months by placing it on indirect heat with the two side burners on high, and the spot where the chicken is, on low.
Cook the chicken until the internal temperature reaches a temperature of 165 F. This equates to roughly one hour. You should baste it every 10-15 minutes.
My basic roast chicken marinade calls for fresh lemon zest and whatever herbs I happen to have in the garden, though tarragon and basil are certainly my favorites
Roast Chicken Recipe
Recipe by Jason Hill – CookingSessions.comIngredients
- 1 large sprig of tarragon leaves removed
- 1 lemon zested
- Juice from the lemon
- 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
- 1 tablespoon crushed garlic
- 1 raw chicken washed and patted dry
- 1 stick unsalted butter cut into cubes
Instructions
- Roughly chop the tarragon leaves and lemon zest into a fine mince.
- In a mixing bowl, place tarragon leaves and lemon zest, followed by the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic. Whisk well.
- Pull the skin apart from the chicken meat very carefully with your fingers, and tuck cubes of butter in various places under the chicken skin.
- Pour marinade over the chicken and under the skin, rubbing to coat well.
- Cover with foil and roast in oven at 400 F or in your center grill (on low) with two outer burners on high.
- Cook for roughly 1 hour, basting every 15 minutes or so. Pull off at 165 F, tested with a cooking thermometer in the thigh or deep into the breast.
