I've been feeling nostalgic lately for some of the foods I first learned to prepare while in high school and college. One of my favorite dishes to make was a roasted chicken with garlic, lemon, honey and herbs. It was originally printed in Yankee Magazine, sometime around 1996. The recipe is not available on the magazine's online archives, so I decided to reproduce it from memory.
While the chicken I made is not not exactly as I remember it, the result is a warm-tasting, savory-sweet chicken dish. It is surprisingly flavorful, given the relatively small number of ingredients used. Below is my version of Honey and Lemon Roasted Chicken.
Honey Lemon Roasted Chicken
Adapted from Yankee Magazine
-1 4 to 5 pound roasting chicken, preferably organic or kosher
-1 lemon half, juiced; the lemon reserved
-2 or 3 whole garlic cloves, peeled
-1 1/2 tablespoons chopped garlic (I used garlic from the jar), or about three medium-sized cloves
-1/8 cup honey
-1/8 cup olive oil, plus more, for rubbing the chicken
-salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
-Four springs fresh rosemary or thyme (optional, or to taste
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Rinse the inside and outside of the chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Trim any excess fat. Place the chicken in a large glass pan. Place the whole garlic cloves and juiced lemon half inside the cavity of the bird. Drizzle olive oil on the outside of the bird, then sprinkle with salt and pepper and rub into the skin. Place in the oven and allow to roast for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix the rest of the olive oil with the honey and lemon juice, then add the chopped garlic, salt and pepper. After the chicken has been in the oven for 20 minutes, remove from oven and baste with the lemon and honey mixture.
After basting, place back in the oven for another 20 minutes, then remove and baste with the lemon and honey mixture. Spoon the juices on the bottom of the pan over the chicken. Continue this pattern until the chicken is thoroughly cooked. Roasting chickens typically require 18 to 20 minutes per pound for cooking when there is no stuffing inside the cavity. Allow the chicken to rest 15 minutes before carving.
If desired, use the extra pan juices to make a gravy to spoon over the meat.
Roast chicken is so brilliantly simple and delicious. I have yet to spike mine with honey...nice touch!
ReplyDeleteHere is how I make it:
ReplyDeleteolive oil for pan
1 tablespoon finely minced garlic, about 3 cloves
1 3 - 3-1/2 pound chicken
1/4 cup of honey
1 teaspoon of salt
several grinds of pepper
1 teaspoon dried crushed thyme leaves, crushed
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Heat the oven to 375. Oil a small roasting pan. Scatter a third of the garlic in the middle of the bottom.
Place the chicken on the garlic. Put another third of the garlic and 1 tablespoon of honey in the cavity of the chicken.
Sprinkle the salt, pepper, and thyme over the chicken and put it in the oven.
Roast until the bird starts to brown and juices begin to come out into the pan 35-45 minutes. Turn the heat down to 350. Remove chicken from oven. Combine remaining honey with lemon juice, drizzle oven the chicken and sprinkle with the remaining garlic. Return the bird to the oven.
Continue to cook, basting with the pan juices every 15 minutes or so, until the chicken is thoroughly cooked, about 1 hour more.
Transfer the chicken to a heated platter and let it rest for 10 minutes. Pour out pan juices and skim off the fat. Serve with chicken.
Note: If juices begin to burn in the bottom of pan add water to pan.
Rebekka: Thanks for your comment. It's always nice to hear from other bloggers! I will have to give one of your recipes a try very soon.
ReplyDeleteMary: Thanks for the original. I am going to try this version sometime and see which I like better. I think I would still use a fresh lemon, though.