Here’s your perfect Sunday roast. This Fresh Thyme & Lemon Stuffed Spring Chicken ticks all the boxes for a great dinner any day of the week, not just Sunday.
Roasted Chicken Can Be Enjoyed all Year Long
Yes, it’s May and I am roasting a chicken. Why not I say! I honestly think roasted chicken like this one and my Roasted Spatchcock Chicken or the Lemon & Rosemary Chicken can be enjoyed all year long.
If you have been following along this week, you would have seen this is a continuation in the series of the Spring roasted lunch. You can check the Thyme & Lemon Roasted Potatoes as well as the Sherry Sautéed Asparagus and Carrots which were served with this chicken. Still to come is Mike’s Onion Gravy, which will be up tomorrow. Still in time to get it done for Sunday!
How To Get A Perfect Chicken
- First of all, as a rule (but not always fail safe), you cook a chicken for about 1/2 hour per pound of meat. This chicken took pretty much exactly 2 hours the other day. Generally, you can stab a knife under the drumstick near the thigh and if the juices run clear, then your chicken is ready. Another way to gage if the bird is done is by using a meat thermometer. You would stick it into the top of the chicken between the leg and the breast and if if reads 165 degrees F, your chicken is ready. So there are many methods to check if the chicken is ready to serve.
- I rub the skin with butter to get it crisp and golden. The skin will brown quickly, so I like to cover the chicken with foil for about 1 hour of the cooking time.
- When stuffing the chicken, pack it in pretty tight and tie the legs as tightly together as you can. This will help the stuffing to cook properly and not dry out.
- I always like to let the chicken rest about 10 minutes or so before serving. I find once the meat has relaxed a bit it not only tastes better but cuts better as well. You could even serve it up to 1/2 hour after it comes out of the oven as it keeps it’s heat a long time. If you are cooking it a while before serving, cover in tin foil to ensure it stays warm.
Enjoy The Roast Chicken
Hope these little tips help you to get that perfect Fresh Thyme & Lemon Stuffed Spring Chicken.
Don’t forget tomorrow I will be posting the final recipe in this series, Mike’s Onion Gravy. That is a recipe not to be missed. So, so, so good!
Fresh Thyme & Lemon Stuffed Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 Whole chicken approximately 2kg/4.5lbs
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 4 Cups of bread crumbs About 6-7 slices of bread
- 1/4 Cup melted butter
- 1/2 Onion finely chopped
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme herbs removed from stalks and stalks discarded
- Zest of one lemon
- Small bunch of fresh parsley roughly chopped
- Salt
- Fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and have ready a large roasting tin.
- Wash chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Place in roasting tin and set aside.
- In a medium skillet set over medium to high heat, add the olive oil and onions. Cook, stirring regularly, for about 5-7 minutes or until onions are soft. Set aside.
- In a food processor, add the slices of bread and pulse until you have coarse bread crumbs. This takes about 20 seconds or so. Transfer the bread crumbs to a medium bowl. Add the melted butter, onion, thyme, lemon zest, parsley, salt and pepper. Stir really well or mix with hands to combine.
- Place the stuffing inside the cavity of the chicken. Tie the chicken legs together with kitchen twine. Rub the extra tablespoon of butter over the skin of the chicken.
- Place in oven and roast for about 1/2 hour. Remove from oven and loosely wrap in aluminium foil. Put back in the oven for a further hour. Take chicken out of oven and baste it with the pan juices. Remove foil and place back in oven for a further 1/2 hour or so. Juices will run clear when chicken is cooked.
- Remove from oven. Cut the string off the legs and with a spoon scoop out the stuffing and transfer to a serving dish. Serve after letting stand at room temperature for about 10 minutes.
*A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.
Thanks For Stopping By & Hope To See You Soon!
