Garlic Lemon Roasted Chicken

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One of the things I would like to learn how to improve upon is my ability to roast.  Roasting a chicken, roasting a turkey, roasting beef, etc.  I'm still learning and it has been an interesting experience so far.  I have been reading about the benefits of making things like roasted whole turkeys and chickens and then making a second meal out of the left over meat.  Doing this will save you money and time in the kitchen.  This recipe for garlic roasted chicken caught my eye last year and I have made it three times since then.

During all three times, I ended up straying from the original recipe and adding/subtracting ingredients.  The picture above was taken at my very first attempt at making it.  I have learned that the chicken comes out juicier without the carrots and it's more flavorful if the onions are in big chunks, not chopped up.  I am not sure why this is, but these have been my conclusions thus far. 

Everyone likes to say that the third time is a charm, and for us, my third time at making this definitely was a winning moment ;)  It's hard to imagine what a few sticks of celery, a few chunks of onions, some butter, and a few lemon slices can do to a whole chicken ;)  I'm still going to try to improve the recipe, however, I will share what I have so far......

Garlic Lemon Roasted Chicken

1 whole chicken (3-6 pounds)

1/8 cup kosher salt and 1/8 cup ground pepper

1 tbsp. each of onion powder, garlic powder, and dried rosemary

1 stick of celery, cut into 3 or 4 pieces

2 lemons, sliced into round pieces

1 stick of butter, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and rosemary in a bowl.

Unwrap chicken and wash under water.  Remove giblets and innards from both sides.  Pat dry.

Place chicken inside roasting dish (we use a shallow baking pan that has 1 inch deep sides, but you can use an aluminum roasting pan, a special dish made just for roasting, or a convection oven).

Rub the salt mixture all over the chicken....making sure to cover the sides and underneath.

Cut a slit underneath the chicken's skin at the top near the edge of the cavity.  Place 2 tbsp. of butter underneath the skin.  Cut 3 more tbsp. of butter and place inside the cavity.  Melt the rest of the butter and drizzle it over the top of the chicken.

Place celery sticks and the slices of one lemon inside the cavity.  Place the other slices of lemon around the chicken.

Place seasoned and stuffed chicken in the oven and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes if it is 3 pounds and 2 hours and 15 minutes if it is 6 pounds.  If you want to make sure it is completely cooked, test it out with a meat thermometer.  The internal temperature should read 180 degrees or higher.

Serve with a nice side of vegetables and rice.  Or cornbread and biscuits.  Or even homemade macaroni and cheese ;)