Whole Roasted Chicken with Lemon and Rosemary

 Whole Roasted Chicken with Lemon and Rosmary recipe ingredients :
Whole Chicken – 1 medium sized (with skin)
Lemon – 2
Rosemary sprigs – 4-5 (only fresh leaves)
Garlic – 1 whole
Butter – 1/2 cup at room temp + more if u like for basting
Olive oil – 2-3 tsp
Onion – 1 roughly cubed (for stuffing)
Salt and pepper generously used here
For tying the legs:
Kitchen twine.
Optional: For veggie bed : 2-3 each of cut into large chunks -potatoes,carrots,onions,garlic twigs or stems of rosemary,2 -4 leaves of sage etc
Method :

1. Bring all the ingredients to room temperature.Wash the chicken well and pat it dry with paper napkins.Apply salt and pepper on all sides and inside of the chicken.
2. Zest 1 lemon carefully without pith by scraping on a fine grater. Chop the rosemary leaves finely. Add the leaves, zest 2-3 garlic flakes crushed to butter.Squeeze the juice of lemon used for zest into it give a good mix.
3.  Separate the chicken from skin and rub  the butter mixture between the skin and flesh use your lovely hands to apply the mixture all over and inside the chicken Take care not to tear  the skin(This ensures the flesh absorbs everything without burning butter from oven heat.)
4.  Apply all the remaining on top of the skin too. Remember to evenly coat.
5.  Now rub onion and garlic flakes with salt and pepper and olive oil and stuff it inside the chicken. Wipe all the remaining oil on to the chicken skin.
6.  Secure the chicken legs with the twine.

1. Prepare the roasting pan with a drip tray/roasting rack or veggie bed of potatoes,carrots,onions,garlic twigs or stems of rosemary,2 -4 leaves of sage etc
2. Preheat oven and roast at 425- 450 F
3. Lay the chicken breast side down on the prepared pan. (This helps all the juices inside to collect at the chicken breast) then after 30 minutes turn the chicken and cook for another 30 – 40 minutes until the meat is cooked thoroughly. Roast in the middle rack so the heat distributes evenly.
4. Baste the chicken with olive oil or more butter with a basting brush every now and then in the last half of cooking.
5. Switch off oven and the bird sit inside the oven for the skin to crisp up for another 15 minutes.Remove the chicken and lay it on the cutting board to cool down a bit say another 15 minutes Baste some fresh butter or olive oil if you like for that glossy shine you see in ads.
6.  Put an aluminium foil loosely covered on it so the juices do not dry out.

Cut from skin to bone (like you would slice a bread). Serve the Whole Roasted Chicken with Lemon and Rosmary with bread /bun

bottom to top (click on bold font for recipe) :
Mashed potato,Lobster, Artichoke and Spinach Bake,  thickened gravy with mashed veggies from roast bed,green bean casserole, Cranberry Sauce, Eggless Pumpkin Pie. 

How to know if the whole chicken is cooked well inside? **

1. .Insert a meat thermometer on the thickest part of the flesh without hitting the bone and it should read 165-175 F.( If it touches the bone the reading will be higher.)
2. .The skin should be crisp and give a crunch sound and the knife should glide through the meat  without too much effort until it touches a bone.
3. . The flesh should be opaque and kind of flaky not pinkish and jiggly.
4. . When a skewer is inserted near the thigh the juices should run clear not cloudy (no traces of blood or pink color)  with no smell of blood.

In all the above cases return to the oven and continue cooking for another 10-15 minutes check again and allow it to rest before cutting.

Note:
If the top skin is burning fast the loosely cover the chicken with an aluminium  foil until cooking is done.

PS: It was really overcast and dark inside so pl excuse the dark pics.