This whole roasted herb garlic roast chicken has the perfect crispy chicken skin and tons of flavour from herbs, garlic and lots of butter! Here are detailed instructions on how to roast chicken, how to make flavorful herb garlic butter and a delicious jus, with tips on prepping and carving a chicken!
This is probably one of the most requested recipes every year on Christmas and so I took up the challenge to do this at home. Herb Garlic Roasted Chicken is SUCH a delicious meal and so satisfying when you’re craving for roast and mash. This is a complete meal with all the works – roasted veggies – I’ve used sweet potatoes and onions – and made gravy from the leftover meat juices. So satisfying. Plus, nothing goes to waste!
This recipe took us a few trials before we nailed it. Like the rest of the world, we wanted the chicken cooked just right – tender, succulent and juicy with a crispy skin. Don’t get intimidated by this recipe, I’ve explained each and every step in detail so that it’s simple to follow. You can also take a look at the video below!
How to Make Herb Garlic Butter
The herbs we have used are thyme and sage, and some people also like to add parsley. They are not overpowering and they beautifully complement each other. We’ve added some paprika and ground pepper for a hit of heat. My favourite and most underrated ingredient is lemon for some citrusy zing! Everything is mixed with butter – this is such a simple marinade with clean flavours.
We use this herb butter under and on the skin which is how this roast chicken recipe is packed with flavour.
Three Important Steps For The Best Crispy Skin Roast Chicken
- Loosening chicken skin: The key to getting that crispy skin on the roast chicken is to loosen the skin of the chicken before marinating it. The skin on the chicken traps all the juices of the herb garlic butter and allows the meat to absorb flavours really well. It makes the chicken really succulent and also gives a nice crispy skin on top. Be as careful as possible so you don’t tear the skin. Don’t skip this step, otherwise you’ll end up with a fab looking chicken on the outside but with bland meat on the inside.
- Marinating the chicken: The advantage of having loosened the skin of the chicken is that you can not only put the herb garlic butter over the chicken, but also under the skin and inside the cavity! This actually creates a double whammy of flavours! We recommend marinating the stuffed chicken overnight in the fridge for max flavour!
- Trussing the chicken: Trussing is basically when you tie up the wings and legs of a chicken, or any bird, before roasting it. For this roast chicken, we haven’t trussed the bird like it is traditionally done. We’ve just tied the legs to make it more presentable! Tuck the wings of the chicken behind the neck. This prevents the wing tips from burning as the chicken roasts.
How To Cook A Whole Chicken
I like to use a cast iron skillet to roast the chicken and veggies, but any roasting pan will do. Elevate the chicken (breast side up) by placing it on top of the veggies – this way the meat juices will easily drip down into the pan. A drizzle of olive oil on top ensures it gets that golden colour. With me so far? Great job! We’ve added chicken stock and a few sprigs of rosemary to the pan. And we’ll use these reduced juices to make a delicious jus. Yum yum!
Top Tips To Roast The Chicken Perfectly
- If your chicken was refrigerated, take it out of the fridge 60 minutes before you are ready to roast it to bring it to room temperature. This will ensure even cooking.
- Preheat the oven at 200 degrees C. Preheating helps to cook the meat evenly.
- Bake the chicken at 200 degrees C for about 25-30 minutes
- The cooking time will differ based on the size of the chicken. The general rule is 25 minutes cook time for 500 grams of chicken. Our 1 kg whole roast chicken took about 50 minutes to cook.
- After baking for 30 minutes, baste the chicken – with the rendered fat and juices of the chicken and veggies in the bottom of the pan. After basting it, put the chicken back in the oven for another 20 minutes.
- At this point, if the skin is browning up too quickly, place another tray on the rack above the chicken. This will prevent the heat from hitting the chicken skin directly.
- You’ll know the chicken is done when the oven temperature hits 75C or 165F, OR when you see those meat juices running clear.
- Rest for 10-15 minutes before carving
How to Carve Chicken
Now it’s carving time! Cut off and remove the twine completely. Use a fork and a meat knife and cut between the joints of the leg and body. If your chicken is cooked perfectly, it should cut right through without any hassle. Next, keeping your hand for support, horizontally slice off each breast of the chicken. The wings can be taken off next. And finally, you can shred any extra meat off the carcass. The carcass is perfect to make stock.
Roast Chicken Gravy – A Sauce Made From the meat juices
Usually the gravy is made with a roux of flour and butter and the meat juices. We’ve taken a shortcut by directly whisking in flour. (Just saving you and me a couple of extra steps!) The jus will turn out to be a nice golden brown and saucy. It’s my favourite part of the dish coz it’s like all components of this dish rolled into one! Plus we don’t want to waste a single bit of flavour in that pan. Serve this jus in an elegant piece of crockery, and pour it onto the chicken pieces in front of your guests. How’s that for presentation? 🙂
Serve Roast Chicken with grilled veggies, Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes and a glass of white wine!
More Roasted Chicken Dinners:
- Roast Spatchcock Chicken
- Indian Style Masala Roast Chicken
- Honey Balsamic Chicken Thighs
- Creamy bacon Rosemary Chicken Thighs
- Caramelized Onion Rosemary Chicken Thighs
Watch How to make Roast Chicken Recipe Video
Whole Roast Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 kg whole chicken at room temperature giblets and neck removed from cavity
- 1 Lemon halved
- 1 sprig Rosemary
- Olive Oil for brushing
Marinade
- ½ cup Salted Butter
- 2 tablespoon Garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon Sage chopped
- ½ teaspoon Rosemary chopped
- ½ teaspoon Thyme chopped
- 1 tablespoon Paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Pepper
- 1 Lemon Zested
- 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
Vegetables
- 3 Onion quartered
- 2 Sweet Potato chunks
- 1 head Garlic halved
- ½ cup Chicken Stock + ¼ cup extra
Gravy
- 1 tablespoon flour
Instructions
- Add all the marinade ingredients to a mixing bowl and whisk together to combine. Use the back of a spoon to gently loosen the skin. Turn over the chicken and repeat the process using the other end of the spoon. Use the spoon to insert marinade underneath the chicken skin. Massage the chicken and spread the marinade evenly. Remember to add butter in the cavity as well. Rub the remaining marinade all over the chicken. Cover the chicken and rest for 2-3 hours or overnight.
- Stuff the rosemary sprig into the chicken cavity along with half a lemon. Tie legs together with kitchen string.
- Lightly grease a roasting pan. Mix the sweet potato, onion, and garlic in a bowl. Place some of the vegetables in the center of the roasting pan. Place breast-side up on top of the vegetables in the middle. Place the remaining vegetables on the sides of the pan. Tuck the wings underneath the chicken as they cook faster and we do not want to overcook them. Rub the chicken with some olive oil and drizzle some over the vegetables as well. Add half a cup of chicken stock to the pan.
- Preheat the oven to 200C. Roast in the oven for 45-50 minutes. baste using the pan juices half way through cooking time. Remember when cooked, juices run clear when chicken thigh is pierced with a skewer. Internal temperature should read 75C.
- Remove from the oven and allow it to stand for 10 minutes before serving. To carve the chicken, first cut out the legs. Then proceed to cut the breast out carefully, seperate the wing tips and then remove the meat from the cavity area.
- Remove the vegetables from the roasting pan and move it to a serving platter. Add 1 tablespoons of flour to the pan and whisk it with the pan juices. Bring this mixture to a boil over low heat till the liquid thickens up to make a gravy. Add up to an additional quarter cup of stock if necessary. Serve hot along with the chicken and vegetables!
Kani says
We made this for Easter and was absolutely delicious!! Made a few changes like adding basil to the marinade and red wine to the jus. Nonetheless, Thank you Richa for this simple yet amazing recipe! 🙂
Dhruvika says
I love a good chicken pot pie, it never fails to please everyone around the table. Also, being Greek, I have to say that avgolemono (especially chicken soup) is always a great option and a very comforting meal.
Richa Gupta says
Hey Dhruvika! You’re right, roast chicken and pot pies are such crowd-pleasers. Thanks for leaving us a comment!