mela's lemon and thyme roast chicken
In our opinion, a whole roast chicken is the ultimate fall dish - it’s one of the coziest (and easiest) ways to ring in the season and a universal crowd-pleaser. This recipe is inspired by our mothers and the one we always go back to. We often make it for dinner on a Sunday or Monday and use the leftovers through the week.
mela’s lemon and thyme roast chicken
yields 6-9 servings
Ingredients
3-pound organic, pasture raised chicken
2 ½ teaspoons coarse kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
1 whole lemon, pricked with a fork all over
handful of fresh thyme (and/or rosemary)
extra-virgin olive oil
kitchen twine
garlic powder and paprika (optional)
Directions:
Pat chicken dry and season all over with sea salt and a few grinds of fresh pepper. If you have time, allow to rest in the fridge uncovered for at least 3 hours and up to overnight (if you don’t have time, don’t worry, you can skip this step).
Remove chicken from the fridge an hour before roasting and pat dry again. Preheat the oven to 425 F degrees.
Place chicken in a cast iron skillet or lined baking sheet and stuff cavity with pricked lemon and thyme and/or rosemary and tie the legs together with kitchen twine. Tuck wings behind backbone. If using, you can sprinkle some paprika and garlic powder all over (up to 1 teaspoon each), and also some additional chopped thyme if desired.
Place chicken in the preheated oven and immediately bring the oven temperature down to 375 F degrees.
After ~20 minutes into cooking, brush the chicken all over with extra virgin olive oil and then continue roasting for another 30 minutes or so (note: total roasting time for chicken tends to be ~20 minutes per pound, or until the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and thigh).
Allow chicken to rest at room temperature for ~10 minutes before carving.
Enjoy!