Roast Chicken
Meal: 284 cal Protein: 53 g Carbs: 0 g Fat: 6 g
There is just honestly, nothing more satisfying than the smell of a chicken roasting in the oven. The benefit of roasting a whole chicken (vs parts) is that the intact bones will produce a more moist and flavorful bird. Comparing this to fried chicken, the calories are 1.5x that of roast chicken at (450 calories vs 284), but where you really feel it is in the carbs (16g v 0g) and fat (22g vs 6g). The side benefit is while the roast chicken takes more time to cook, it’s a lot less effort once you put it in the oven and much easier clean up.
Ingredients
- 1 Whole Chicken , preferably Organic and Free Range
- 1 Lg Onion
- 1 Lg Lemon , sliced
- 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
- Favorite Seasonings – my go to is Garlic and Oregano, plus Salt & Pepper
Directions
- Preheat oven to 425F. Double Parchment line a baking sheet.
- Remove whole chicken from packaging including any items stuffed inside the chicken. Trim away an excess fat around the edges.
- Next is to cut the bird so that it will lie flat on the baking sheet – you have a choice of either Butterfly (rib cage) or Spatchcock (spine) – so the chicken will cook more evenly.
- With either approach, the cooking is exactly the same.
- We find the Butterfly to be the better method for two reasons – 1) it leaves the spine intact which helps keep the chicken moister and more flavorful and 2) the breasts are covered by the wings which naturally baste them and help keep them more moist.
- OPTION 1: BUTTERFLY – using knife or kitchen shears, cut straight down, end to end, on the rib cage. Pat chicken dry on both sides. Season both sides of the chicken and set aside.
- OPTION 2: SPATCHCOCK – using knife or kitchen shears, cut straight down, end to end, on one side of the spine. Repeat on other side of spine and remove the entire spinal column. Set spine aside for later use in stock or gravy. Pat chicken dry on both sides. Using your hands or a pastry brush, coat chicken with olive oil, then season top and bottom with spices.
- Place onion rings on the baking sheet. Next, place chicken on the baking pan. Lift skin slightly from breasts and thighs and slip lemon slices between the chicken and the skin.
- Using your hands or a pastry brush, coat chicken with olive oil, then season top and bottom with spices.
- Place chicken in oven and roast for 20 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350F and continue cooking the chicken 15 minutes for every 1lb (example, a 4 lb chicken needs to cook 1 hour and 20 minutes).
- Before removing from oven, check if chicken juices are running clear and leg can be easily moved at the joint. Remove from oven and rest for 30 minutes prior to serving.
