- 4
Ingredients
- 2 medium lemon
- 2 tbsp plus 1/2 tsp Kosher salt, divided
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 - 4 lb chicken
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
Preparation
Step 1
Zest both lemons. In a small food processor, combine zest, 1 tbsp salt, rosemary and black pepper. Pulse until combined. Rub the chicken with the zest and salt mixture (outside, inside the cavity and the skin and breast meat).
Cut the lemon in half and stuff one half in the cavity of the chicken. Set the chicken on a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet. Refrigerate uncovered for at least 4 hours, and as long as 24 hours.
About 30 minutes before roasting the chicken, set an oven rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 425F.
Meanwhile, melt the butter and brush it evenly over the chicken. Sprinkle the chicken with 1/2 tsp salt.
Set the chicken, breast side up, on a roasting rack in a roasting pan. Let the chicken set at room temperature while the oven heats.
Roast the chicken until the breasts are nicely browned and crisp, about 40 minutes. Use tongs to gently flip the chicken, then return to the oven until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 to 170F, about 20 minutes more.
Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes, then carve.