Roast Chicken with Lemon

It felt like a special occasion when I served this beautiful roast chicken with lemon. The thyme and gravy make it a great dish to serve to guests…but I didn’t. My chicken was only 3 1/2 pounds, so my husband and I enjoyed it as a special weeknight meal.

I like the idea that I could dry brine it the night before. (I left it in the fridge for 30 hours!) Massaging the butter mixture under the skin worked well. My little chicken still took 1 hour and 10 minutes. For the gravy, I didn’t get 2 cups liquid but also knew I wouldn’t need that much for just the two of us, so I reduced the liquid to 1 cup. It was all very tasty!

This roast chicken with lemon taught me two new delicious techniques, so in my book, that already makes it a winner. I love the idea of brining, but I hate the fuss of liquid brines or even dry brines with a ton of ingredients. Plus, as a single working mom, I just don’t have the time. But slap a few tablespoons of salt on a bird and toss it in the fridge for the day? I can do that! Simple? Check. Relatively little hands-on time? Check. Delicious? Check. Loved it!

I placed the salted bird on a plate in the kitchen and drained it twice over an 8-hour period. Then I let it rest at room temperature for 1 hour before rinsing and preparing it for the oven. Because I used a 4 1/2-pound organic roasting chicken, I was only able to fit 2 slices lemon per side. The hen was cooked perfectly after 1 hour, 10 minutes. I had 1/4 cup juices in the pan after skimming the fat, so I added about 1 1/2 cups chicken broth to the pan. I only used 2 tablespoons flour and omitted the cream. The gravy was still thick and full-bodied, possessing a wonderful flavor without adding any additional seasoning (minus the thyme sprigs).

This roast chicken with lemon definitely fits the description of a TC for me: easy, delicious, beautiful right out of the oven, and going into the family favorites notebook! Just the right amount of lemon-thyme flavor comes through, both in the chicken and the gravy. The skin is beautifully colored and crisp with slightly salty and lemony overtones. You will want to sing after the first taste!

I used a 3 3/4-pound chicken and refrigerated it for 21 hours. It roasted for approximately 55 minutes until it registered 170°F on the thermometer. I had to add chicken stock to the pan drippings to get 2 cups liquid, as there was only about 1/4 to 1/3 cup pan juices after skimming the fat. I served this lovely chicken with jasmine rice and steamed sliced carrots. A beautiful plate and 2 happy tasters. A+.

I chose a 3-pound bird and used half the amount of salt, since my chicken was just half the size called for in the recipe. I usually don’t like to brine my poultry too long, as it can end up tasting like deli meat, especially with a wet brine. I dry brined mine before I went to bed the night before, which resulted in 20 hours of brine time. This resulted in tender and moist white meat, although it was a tad salty for me, even after the rinse and pat. I would try the recipe again, brining for 14 hours and rubbing with salt that morning.

Despite using a smaller bird, I went for the full amount of thyme butter and lemon slices. I had quite a bit of trouble spreading the butter under the skin and found it nearly impossible to loosen the skin surrounding the dark meat. In the end, I got the butter under the breast skin and just spread it on top of the skin of the dark meat. The result was flavorful, moist, and crisp. I removed the butter from the fridge at the time I removed the bird. I set out my chicken and butter for 1 hour. The chicken was still chilled, and the butter was soft but would’ve been easier to work with if it had had another hour at room temperature.

I loved getting to take advantage of my collection of cast-iron pans by preheating a large one for 5 minutes. The sizzle when the edges of the bird hit the hot cast-iron made me that much more excited to dig into what I found to be a crisp and tender roast. My bird cooked in just 35 minutes! I’d expected 45 to 50 minutes, since the suggested time for a bird twice the size was 1 hour, 20 minutes. But the meat was cooked perfectly! It was extra juicy.

I got very few drippings, and there was mostly fat in the pan—about 2 tablespoons. Some juices rendered as the chicken rested, but I had to use stock I already had on hand to make the gravy. I made a 5-minute roux with the flour and fat, as 1 minute is quite short, and I’m very turned off by raw flour taste. I also whisked and simmered the gravy an extra 5 minutes or so since my reserved stock was cold, and gravy should be piping hot.

The gravy was incredible! I would’ve put the thyme sprigs in at the beginning to let the flavor infuse the gravy even more. I served this perfect roast chicken with white rice, roasted Brussels sprouts, and celeriac, as well as a salad lightly dressed with lemon and olive oil.

This was a terrific roast chicken with lemon recipe. The best I’ve ever had? Probably not. But it was really, really good. The lemon flavor was perfect—pronounced but not overwhelming. I did have a little trouble getting the butter under the skin without tearing it. I was able to rub the butter in and fit 5 lemon slices in the chicken. I have small hands, but there was no hope of really getting into the thigh area either.

My chicken was 3 pounds and took 45 minutes to roast. I’ve roasted a lot of chickens, so I had a pretty good idea that 45 minutes would be perfect. The foil ring seemed to provide a bit of support for the chicken. My chicken yielded very little drippings; there was really only enough fat to make the roux, and I had to add stock to it.