Lemon-Pepper Roast Chicken
- Level: Easy
- Yield: 6 to 8 servings
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 8 servings
- Calories
- 881
- Total Fat
- 64
- Saturated Fat
- 22
- Carbohydrates
- 3
- Dietary Fiber
- 1
- Sugar
- 1
- Protein
- 65
- Cholesterol
- 291
- Sodium
- 1312
- Total: 2 hr 20 min
- Prep: 30 min
- Cook: 1 hr 50 min
Ingredients
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
2 teaspoons paprika
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 4-to-5-pound chickens, rinsed and patted dry
1 cup dry white wine
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Pulse the butter, lemon zest and juice, garlic, thyme, paprika, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 tablespoon pepper in a food processor until smooth.
- Put the chickens on a rimmed baking sheet. Loosen the skin on the breasts and legs with your fingers. Rub about three-quarters of the lemon-pepper butter under the skin, then rub the rest all over the chickens. Refrigerate, uncovered, 2 hours or up to 8 hours before roasting.
- Tie the chicken legs together with twine and tuck the wings under the body; place breast-side up on a rack in a large roasting pan. Pour the wine into the pan and transfer to the oven; roast until the chickens are golden and crisp and a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 170 degrees F, about 1 hour, 50 minutes. (Tent with foil if the skin browns too quickly.)
- Let the chickens rest 10 minutes before portioning (see below). Season with salt.
- Grab one of the legs with tongs and pull it away from the body; cut through the skin with kitchen shears.
- Pull the leg out and back to pop the joint; remove the leg with the shears. Repeat on the other side.
- Separate the drumsticks from the thighs with the shears.
- Cut off the wings as close to the body as possible.
- Insert the shears into the tail end of the chicken and cut along the breastbone.
- Pull back one of the breasts and cut it off the backbone. Repeat on the other side.