Honey Garlic Roast Chicken

By á-6416

Ingredients

• 1 whole organic chicken. I used a 2.5 lb bird for 3 people and we have leftovers. Adjust to your families’ size.
• 1 stick of room temperature pastured butter. If you use a bird over 4 pounds, add another stick and double the garlic and honey.
• 4 cloves of garlic, grated. This is the grater I use.
• 1/4 cup raw honey
• sea salt and pepper

Details

Adapted from ahappyhealthnut.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.
In a small bowl, combine your butter, garlic and honey. Mix until well incorporated. Make sure your butter is room temp so that you can mix it easily. It’s also important to grate the garlic into the butter. If you have big chunks of garlic they will burn in the cooking process.
Pat your chicken dry with a paper towel. Slide your finger underneath the skin of the chicken on the breast side, separating the skin from the bird, but leaving it attached.
Place the bird in a baking dish, breast side up.
Season the bird liberally with salt and pepper. Make sure to season the cavity, underneath the skin, and all over the outside of the bird. Then massage the salt and pepper into the bird.
With the breast side up, slather the compound butter on the bird, making sure to get some underneath the skin.
Add a bit of chicken stock or a bit of water to the bottom of the dish, just a quarter cup or so, just so the bird doesn’t burn.
Put the bird in the oven and roast, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes per pound. Make sure to check the bird to see that it isn’t burning! The honey will cause the skin to caramelize and become crispy, but it can burn rather quickly. When the bird is brown enough for you, just cover it with aluminum foil so it doesn’t burn. Keep in mind that covering it will hasten the cooking time, so you might shave a few minutes off.
When the juices run clear, the bird is done. Remove it from the oven and let it rest on the cutting board for at least 15 minutes. This step is imperative. If you cut into it right away, all of the juices will run out and you will end up with a dry bird. No good.
Garnish with some citrus wedges or scallions. Enjoy!