dp spotlight sf Recipe: Lemon & Herb Roast Chicken

PREP TIME: 15 mins + overnight dry-brine (if you have time)

COOK TIME: 1 hour 10 mins

You've probably had roasted chicken before, but this is one you'll remember. This one is incredibly juicy with a crispy skin coated in lemon zest & a homemade blend of delicious herbs.

We strongly recommend dry-brining (salting) the chicken overnight in the fridge before cooking. It will make a huge difference in helping you achieve perfectly juicy meat and crispy skin. If you want to know the science behind that, just reach out and ask us!

It's also really important to let the chicken come to room temperature before cooking to help create that crispy skin and enable even cooking. We recommend at least 1 hour on a wire rack inside a rimmed baking sheet.

For the herb mixture, a good trick is to make double the amount of this recipe and then store what you don't need in an airtight container for use in other dishes - believe us, you're going to want to put it on everything!

We served our chicken with homemade fries (just cut, add oil & salt and bake) - perfect for soaking up the gravy.

INGREDIENTS:

Servings: 4 - 6

1 whole chicken (~4 lbs)
4 tsp kosher salt for dry-brining
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon
10 dried bay leaves
2 tsp dried rosemary
3 tbsp dried thyme
10 black peppercorns
3 garlic cloves, peeled and whole
3 tbsp red wine
3 tbsp water

PREPARATION:

STEP 1
Sprinkle salt all over the chicken. If you have time, let it stand in the fridge for several hours or overnight.

STEP 2
Remove chicken from the fridge 1 hour before roasting. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 425 deg F. Place the chicken in a roasting pan and rub the chicken all over with olive oil and then grate lemon zest all over as well.

STEP 3
After grating the lemon, cut the lemon into wedges and place them inside the chicken. Place garlic cloves inside the chicken as well.

STEP 4
Put the bay leaves, rosemary, thyme, and peppercorns into a small food processor or blender and process until the texture of a dried rub (or continue processing to a fine powder, if you'd prefer). Rub the herb mixture all over the chicken.

STEP 5
Roast the chicken, breast facing down, for 25 minutes. Turn the chicken over and roast for another 35 minutes, until golden and cooked through.

STEP 6
Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside to rest and stay warm. Place the roasting pan from the oven over medium-high heat on the stovetop. With tongs, remove the lemon wedges and garlic cloves from the cavity of the chicken and place in the roasting pan. Pour in the wine and water to the pan, and loosen any brown bits in the pan with a wooden spoon. Boil the cooking juices, bubbling them down into a tasty, thick gravy. After the sauce has reduced down to your desired consistency, pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a serving bowl.

STEP 7
After the chicken has rested for at least 10 minutes, carve into pieces and place on a serving dish. Pour the gravy over top or serve on the side.

BONUS TIP: Save the bones! We always save our chicken bones and make nutritious chicken stock from them - a critical ingredient in so many other amazing dishes.