The classic whole roast chicken is the ultimate party food and you got to have this fail-proof recipe to have a perfect celebration! Don’t miss the potatoes and onions either!
Ok! Finally, it is here! My whole roast chicken recipe which can be described in just one word! A-W-E-S-O-M-E! The whole roast chicken was my dream recipe to master since the time I had started to learn the art of grilling/barbecuing.
After a failure, there followed the success and to be extra sure, I made this couple of times so that I can share a fail-proof recipe with you all and save you from the frustration of a disastrous whole roast chicken! I know how it feels, trust me!
For me, whole roast chicken is a symbol of celebration and with this recipe of mine, you can be the superstar in your next family dinner or friends’ get-together. Please be aware that you will surely be asked for the recipe! Now it will be up to you whether or not you want to open up your trade secret! 😉
The best thing about this whole roast chicken is that it’s super crispy on the outside and extremely moist and juicy inside. The butter does its magic to the chicken and you get that ultimate soft and succulent roast chicken that you have always desired. No more dry and rubbery chicken please!
To make sure that your whole roast chicken turns out perfectly cooked, do follow the additional instructions at the end of the recipe which are crucial points for success. Take a closer look at the pictures of my whole roast chicken and you will see how crispy and juicy the chicken has come out!
I must also talk about the roasted potatoes and caramelized onions which accompany the roasted chicken. I mean, these are must! The potatoes and onion slices mainly act as a bed for the chicken so that the chicken gets a lift and doesn’t boil in its own juices making it soggy instead of crispy. So do NOT think of skipping the potatoes and onion.
You can even add some thickly sliced carrots too! You will actually thank yourself for adding these veggies! They soak up all the flavors from the roast chicken and caramelize along with the chicken which makes for a killer combination of meat & veggie.
Finally, before closing, just wanted to mention that this is not an everyday recipe and you will most probably save it for a special occasion; so, you should enjoy every bit of the process and have trust in yourself that you can do it!
My lack of self-confidence during my very first trial of whole roast chicken resulted into a disaster. But then I convinced myself that this is not rocket science. I only need to follow few steps carefully which I can definitely do and everything will fall into place on its own. And that’s exactly what happened!
Here is my take on the whole roast chicken adapted from Laura Vitale!
- Skin-on whole chicken – 1 of about 1 kg (2 lb) weight, washed and patted fry
- Garlic – 2 to 4 cloves, minced
- Dried rosemary – 2 tsp, lightly crushed
- Unsalted butter – 3 tbsp (40 gms), at room temperature
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Whole head of garlic – 1, cut in half (cross-section wise)
- Lemon – 1, halved
- Onion – 2, large, cut into thick round slices
- Potatoes – 4, large, thoroughly washed, dried and cut into large chunks (No need to peel! YAY!)
- Garlic – 10 to 12 cloves, unpeeled
- Dried rosemary – 2 tsp, lightly crushed
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Olive oil – 2 tbsp
- Preheat the oven to 220 C (425F) for at least 10 minutes.
- Drizzle 1 teaspoon of the olive oil on a large roasting/baking dish and coat all over well. Add the potato cubes, whole garlic cloves, rosemary, salt and pepper. Drizzle one more teaspoon of olive oil over them and toss everything together. Arrange them along the sides of the dish and leave a space in the center for onions and chicken.
- Arrange the onion slices in the middle in a single layer and sprinkle some salt over it. Set aside.
- Next we will prepare the butter for the chicken. In a small bowl, mix the soft butter with rosemary, minced garlic, salt and pepper using a fork to make a homogeneous paste.
- Take ¾ of this mixture and put it under the skin over the breast i.e. between the breast and the skin and massage it well to smear as evenly as possible. Place the remaining butter on top of the chicken covering all parts.
- Stuff the inside cavity of the chicken with the halved whole lemon and the halved whole head of garlic. Then tie the chicken legs together with a kitchen twine or thread.
- Place the prepared chicken on top of the onion slices in the roasting fish. Tuck the winds under and sprinkle salt and pepper evenly over the top.
- Bake the chicken for about 1 hour and 20 minutes or until the internal temperature of the thickest part, which is around the chicken thighs, reaches 78C/170 F.
- Remove it from oven and cover it with an aluminum foil for about 15 minutes before carving.
- Carve the chicken into approximately 8 pieces and serve hot with roasted potatoes and caramelized onions.
2. Do not roast a frozen chicken. Thaw it completely before preparing it.
3. The roasting temperature is very important; do not open the oven door frequently, especially for the first 40 minutes as the temperature will drop while you open the door resulting in an uneven baking.
4. In case you don’t have a thermometer to check the temperature, cut the thickest part of the bird and check if the juices run clear and no traces of pink exist. Additionally you can also insert a toothpick and satay stick and it should go inside the meat without much resistance.
A two pound chicken???
Yup!
There is no such thing as a 2 pound chicken at our local stores. I’m lucky to find one under 5 pounds! I just use a good old roasting chart, at about 20 minutes per pound so this recipe seems to work for a larger bird as well. (I assume because the temp is fairly high)
I found your recipe on Yummly and it was SO delicious! The chicken turned out perfect and there was so much flavour in the veggies. Loved it!
Thank you Sarah! We are so glad you liked it!
Hi, this post is mouth watering. Please let me know where can I get unsalted butter?
Hi Arijita, you can try the supermarkets for unsalted butter like hypercity/spencer/big bazaar etc. It is also called cooking butter. Even if you don’t get it, you can use the regular table butter for this recipe, but just cut down the salt a bit. Unsalted butter is particularly necessary for baking but since I use only this for my cooking, I mentioned unsalted butter here too. Hope this helps!