A show-stopping roasted chicken is easier to make than you think! Roasted Chicken with Meyer Lemon is the perfect centerpiece for a weeknight meal or a family gathering. Its juicy meat and citrus flavor make for a flavorful (healthyish) dish made to share.
Dressed to Impress
You will wow your friends and family with this beautiful roasted chicken! Its bright flavors and fragrant herbs pay homage to California and its love of fresh produce. The smell of fragrant rosemary and thyme and sweet, citrusy Meyer lemon will fill your kitchen. Roasting it in a dutch oven allows for the skin to get crispy and golden and the meat to stay juicy. I recommend plating the golden Roasted Chicken with Meyer Lemon with rosemary and lemon to complete the dish.
Ingredients Matter
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: ingredients matter. The quality of ingredients absolutely influences the final product. For meat, I always choose organic and free-range. The flavor is better and the process in which the animals are raised is cleaner and more humane. As for the produce, I always choose organic to avoid pesticides and the other chemicals non-organic produce is grown with. To take it one step further, you can use the bones of the chicken and the onion to make a homemade chicken stock, which you can then freeze and use for soups in the future.
Steps for a Moist and Tender Roasted Chicken with Meyer Lemon
Whenever I make a roasted chicken, I use a large dutch oven, like this Staub 5.75-Qt Coq Au Vin Cocotte. It locks in all of the moisture in the chicken and bastes it using the small knobs on the inside of the lid. Once you remove the lid from the cocotte, the chicken cooks in its juices while the skin turns golden.
I also use fat in the form of olive oil and butter to lock in all of the herbs and juices. You can then store your butter in a stylish butter keeper, like this French Kitchen Marble Butter Keeper or this Stoneware Butter Keeper. Finally, salt penetrates through the meat and seasons the chicken through and through making the meat tender and flavorful.
If you like this dish, check out Roasted Chicken Stuffed with Wild Rice and Roasted Turkey Roulade.
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Roasted Chicken with Meyer Lemon and Herbs is a show-stopping, flavor-packed dish. Its quintessential California flavors include farm-fresh, Meyer lemon, and organic free-range chicken.
Ingredients
- 1 5 lb whole roasting chicken
- 1 Meyer lemon, juiced
- 1 lemon, sliced for garnish
- 3 tbsp butter, melted
- 2–3 sprigs thyme
- 2–3 sprigs rosemary, plus more for garnish
- 2 tbsp rosemary, chopped
- 1 tsp thyme leaves
- 1 small onion
- Kosher salt
- Pepper, freshly cracked
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425ºF. Take the chicken and remove the giblets. Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel.
Stuff the chicken with the sprigs of thyme and rosemary. Place the chicken inside of the dutch oven.
In a bowl, mix lemon juice, butter, chopped sage, rosemary, thyme, kosher salt, and cracked pepper. Brush the chicken with the butter-herb mixture, covering the entire top and sides of the chicken. Stuff the cavity of the chicken with the leftover lemon and onion. Truss the chicken legs by tying them together with baker’s twine.
Place the lid on the dutch oven and cook in the oven for 1 hour. Remove dutch oven lid and cook for an additional 20-30 minutes, or until the chicken is golden and crispy. Remove the chicken from the oven and let it rest for 15 minutes.
Place on a serving platter with sprigs of rosemary and slices of lemon for garnish.
Keywords: roasted chicken, lemon chicken, healthy chicken, holiday dinner, easy dinner, thanksgiving, Christmas
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