There’s something so comforting when you enter a home/kitchen and there’s a chicken roasting in the oven. A scent that immediately captivates yours taste-buds and then the eager anticipation of dinner kicks in. This here Garlic Rosemary Roasted Chicken will truly impress your family and friends, but be warned as the neighbors may just show up at your door if there’s a widow open or you have the fan/vent on in the kitchen, as you prepare this one.
You’ll Need…
1 chicken (about 3-4 lbs)
1 tablespoon rosemary (plus more for stuffing)
4 cloves garlic (crushed)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 lemon (zest and juice)
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 pimento peppers
Important: If doing this recipe gluten free, please go through the entire list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs.
Finely chop the rosemary (no stems) and one of the pimento peppers. then add it to a bowl with the olive oil, salt, black pepper, garlic, lemon zest and lemon juice. Mix well.
Now cover the entire (clean/trimmed) chicken, with this marinade. I dabbed it on with a small brush.
You may place one of the used lemon pieces in the bird’s cavity, along with any remaining marinade and rosemary you may have left back. Feel free to top the chicken with more salt and black pepper as well as in the cavity. I didn’t. However I did slice the remaining pimento pepper in half and stuffed it in the chicken.
Place the chicken (I used a cast iron pan) into a preheated 400 F oven on the middle rack. No I did not tent or cover the chicken with foil. But you may do so for the first 30 minutes if you so wish.
Using a spoon, I tipped the roasting pan to a side and basted the chicken with the oils on the bottom every 15 minutes or so. This will keep the chicken nice and moist and help with developing a lovely golden color. After about 1 hour, this chicken was fully cooked/roasted. Keep in mind that if you use a bigger chicken it will take longer. I forgot to mention (watch the video below) I did tie the legs of the chicken with kitchen string and I tucked the wings below the bird to help keep it stable and to assist in even browning.
Allow the chicken to rest for about 10 minutes before you slice.
Yes you may work the marinade below the chicken’s skin but to be quite honest, I’ve done so in the past and for the work, it’s not worth it… as I never really see (taste) a difference. Maybe tv shows got us believing it makes a huge difference?
Do you own a copy of my cookbook ?- The Vibrant Caribbean Pot 100 Traditional And Fusion recipes Vol 2
