Total Time: 1 hour 25 mins | Prep Time: 10 mins | Cook Time: 75 minutes
Ingredients
- 3-4 pound whole chicken, at room temperature giblets and neck removed from cavity*
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup dry white wine (OPTIONAL)
- 1 lemon, halved
- Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 head of garlic roughly peeled and cut in half horizontally through the middle crosswise
- 3 fresh whole rosemary sprigs
Directions
- Preheat oven to 430°F. Line a baking tray with foil, or lightly grease a roasting pan.
- Discard neck from inside the cavity and pat dry with paper towels.
- Pour the olive oil, melted butter, wine (if using) and the juice of half a lemon over the chicken, under the skin and inside the cavity. Season chicken liberally on the outside and inside the cavity with salt and pepper. Sprinkle over the parsley.
- Rub the minced garlic over the chicken, mixing all ingredients together over the chicken and under the skin.
- Stuff the garlic head into the chicken cavity along with the rosemary sprigs and the squeezed lemon halve. Tie legs together with kitchen string.
- Place breast-side up into baking tray or roasting pan. Roast for 1 hour and 15-20 minutes, basting half way through cooking time, until juices run clear when chicken thigh is pierced with a skewer.
- Baste again, then broil for a further 2-3 minutes, until golden.
- Remove from the oven, cover with foil and allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving. Serve, drizzled with pan juices and remaining lemon half cut into wedges or slices.
*Note: For a larger chicken, roast at 430°F for one hour. Then, reduce oven temperature down to 325°F. Baste and cover chicken. Roast, basting 2 more times while cooking, until chicken is cooked through, about 45 mins to an hour. Internal temperature should read 165°F and juices run clear when pierced.