Whether you are making Sunday dinner or celebrating the holidays, roast chicken is one of the best ways to go. Savory deliciousness at it’s best, and the house will smell absolutely heavenly while that bird is roasting. This is The Organic Kitchen’s Citrus and Herb Roast Chicken ~ For Any Day or The Holidays!
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Citrus and Herb Roast Chicken ~ Any Day or Holidays! in a blue dish surrounded by rosemary and cranberries

The Herbed Butter (or ghee):

To make this citrus herbed butter I simply mix butter (or ghee) from grass fed cows with orange zest, lemon zest, thyme, rosemary, sea salt and pepper.

Butter mixture in a white bowl to be used for Citrus and Herb Roast Chicken ~ Any Day or Holidays!

Then I gently separate the skin from the breast meat and place half the herbed butter under the skin. I melt the remaining butter and brush it on the skin for a tender, moist, flavorful roast chicken.

Prepped Citrus and Herb Roast Chicken ~ Any Day or Holidays!

Those Onions Though…

This beautiful bird is surrounded by sweet red onions that caramelize while cooking, and when spooned over that crispy roasted chicken this meal is over the top!

Citrus and Herb Roast Chicken ~ Any Day or Holidays! #roastchicken #keto #paleo #whole30 #holidaychicken

Serve with Cranberry Sauce for The Holidays!

To dress this chicken up for the holidays, serve with my Five Minute Cranberry Sauce.

Citrus and Herb Roast Chicken ~ Any Day or Holidays! #roastchicken #keto #paleo #whole30 #holidaychicken

If You Are Nervous About Roasting a Chicken…

Don’t be, It’s actually easy and I answer many questions you may have in my tutorial “Everything you Want to Know About Roasting a Chicken”.

The Recipe: Citrus and Herb Roast Chicken ~ Any Day or Holidays!

Tips and what you need: a roasting pan, sea salt (I buy the huge tub to save money), and a good knife. Now, after creating a roasted chicken masterpiece you don’t want to rip it to shreds. Watch this video tutorial to learn to carve a chicken the proper way.

5 from 7 votes
Print
Citrus and Herb Roast Chicken
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
1 hr 15 mins
Total Time
1 hr 30 mins
 

A delicious, tender, savory roast chicken that is perfect for any day and the holidays!

Course: dinner
Keyword: dinner, holiday, Paleo, roast chicken, whole30
Servings: 4 servings
Author: Linda Spiker
Ingredients
  • 1 4 1/2-5 pound organic roasting chicken
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter (or ghee) room temperature
  • 6 sprigs fresh thyme, 4 left whole, three stripped of leaves and chopped
  • 4 sprigs rosemary, 3 left whole, 1 stripped of leaves and finely chopped
  • 1 lemon, zested then quartered
  • zest of half an orange
  • 1 teaspoon coarse or flaked sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 red onion, peeled, cut in half, then quarter each half
Instructions

  1. Remove chicken from refrigerator, rinse inside and out with warm water, pat dry with paper towels. For best results allow to come to room temperature on counter (about an hour)

  2. While chicken comes to room temp prepare herbed butter: 

  3. Zest 1/2 an orange and 1 lemon, place zest in small bowl. Quarter the lemon and set aside. Use a fork to mash soft butter with chopped herbs, lemon zest, orange zest, sea salt and pepper. .

  4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees, Place oven rack in lower third of oven

  5. Place 3 thyme sprigs, 3 rosemary sprigs, and lemon slices into cavity of the chicken. Gently use fingers to separate skin from the meat of the chicken breast being careful not to rip skin. Use your fingers to place half the herb butter mixture under the skin. To get the herbed butter all the way to the top of the breast you can rub the outside of the skin in an upward motion pushing the butter toward the neck

  6. If you have a small wire rack for the bottom of your roasting pan, place it in the pan and set the chicken on top of rack, breast side up. If you don't have a rack, that's fine, just set the chicken in the roasting pan, breast side up (I didn't use a rack and mine was delish, so no worries)

  7. Melt the remaining herbed butter and brush onto chicken, front, back, legs and wings. Tuck wings behind the back of the chicken and try legs together with trussing string. Add onions to pan around the chicken 

  8. Place roasting pan into oven and cook for 1 hour turning the pan a half  rotation halfway through cooking time (30 minutes:). After chicken has cooked for one hour start basting chicken every few minutes for another 15 minutes (Please note: ovens are very different, cooking time may vary. Thigh juices should run clear and internal temperature should read 165 degrees. If you want to take the guess work out of it, use a meat thermometer)

  9. Remove from oven, cover with foil and allow to "rest" for ten minutes before carving. Spoon onions and juices over chicken, serve.

 

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