Ingredients
- .25 lb butter, room temperature
- 2 Tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped, plus 3–4 sprigs
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp garlic, minced
- 3 lemons, zested and halved
- 5 –7 lb chicken
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Preparation
Step 1
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
In a mixing bowl, combine the butter, chopped rosemary, olive oil, garlic, and zest. Set aside.
Remove giblets from the chicken and discard. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Season the cavity with salt and pepper. Stuff the chicken with 3 halves of the zested lemon and the rosemary sprigs.
Gently, being careful not to rip, lift the skin from the breast of the chicken and rub some of the butter mixture underneath (on the surface of the flesh), getting some down the sides as well.
Truss the chicken. Start by cutting a 3-ft piece of butchers twine. Lay the chicken on its backbone with the legs facing you. Tuck the tip of the wings under themselves, then wrap the twine around the top of the legs, pulling them together. In one movement, pull both sides of the twine around the middle part of the thigh and around the tops of the tucked wings. Flip the chicken with the twine and tie the string tightly at the top base of the back. Flip the chicken back over.
Rub the remaining butter mixture all over the outside of the chicken. Season generously with salt and pepper.
On a foil-lined baking sheet or roasting pan, place the prepared chicken and bake for 1 hour.
After 1 hour, turn the oven down to 350°F. Remove the chicken and squeeze the juice from the remaining lemons overtop. Place back in and cook for about 30 minutes, or until a thermometer stuck in the thickest part of the chicken reaches 165°F.
Once cooked, remove the chicken from oven, letting it rest for 15 minutes before carving and serving.