How to Roast a Perfect Whole Chicken Every Time

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Learn how to roast a juicy, whole-roasted chicken with crispy skin that’s full of flavor every single time.

Knowing how to roast a perfect whole chicken with confidence is a staple for every home cook. This simple roast chicken recipe delivers juicy breast meat, crisp skin and is easy enough that anyone can master.

Serve whole for a stunning presentation or shred the meat and use in any dish calling for shredded chicken. Once you realize how easy this roast chicken is to make, you may find that you no longer need to stop at the grocery store for a rotisserie chicken for an easy chicken dinner.

Raising Meat birds

I have been making roast chicken like this for almost two decades. But in recent years, I’ve also learned more about how the quality of the meat we eat matters. With this information, raising our own meat birds became priority to ensure they were fed quality feed, which ultimately ends up in our bodies. You can read more about our experience here.

Perfect Whole Roasted Chicken Ingredients

• 4-5 lbs. whole chicken
• 1 large onion, peeled and quartered
• 2-3 garlic cloves
• 2 T. melted butter
• 1 Lemon, cut in half
• 1 bunch of Thyme Sprigs
• Kosher salt
• Black pepper

Perfect Whole Roasted Chicken Instructions

Prepare

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Allow the chicken to come to room temperature by removing the chicken from the refrigerator an hour before starting the chicken prep. Cooking meat that is at room temperature not only helps to ensure even cooking, but also aids in better flavor and a juicer end product.

To prepare the whole chicken, first remove giblets and neck bone and set aside. (Don’t discard these! Save them to make a nourishing bone broth. If short on time, toss in a freezer bag to make broth at a later time.) Rinse the chicken under warm water, making sure to get the inside of the chicken too. Use paper towels to dry the skin, this will make the butter adhere better.

In order to have flavorful meat, it’s important to season the meat properly. When food is lacking flavor, its most often because it hasn’t been properly seasoned. Adding enough salt and pepper, along with aromatics will greatly improve the flavor of your chicken. I’ve found it best to prep your seasonings before your hands get dirty touching raw chicken and measure out what you will need into a small bowl.

Sprinkle 1 tsp of kosher salt and 1 tsp of pepper to the cavity of the chicken. Now this is where you can start to experiment and play with what you add to the inside of the chicken. In addition to salt and black pepper, my usual add-ins are whole garlic cloves, a quartered onion, fresh thyme sprigs and a lemon cut in half. Rosemary sprigs, sage or your favorite fresh herbs are excellent choices too.

Move the stuffed whole chicken to a large cast iron skillet, large roasting pan or stoneware baking dish with the breast side up.

In a small saucepan melt 2 T of butter. Using a brush, coat the outside of the chicken with the melted butter. Liberally sprinkle salt over the top of the melted butter. Some people will use olive oil here, but I prefer the flavor of butter.

Bake

Bake the chicken uncovered at 425 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. The cook time will vary based on the weight of your chicken. If roasting a chicken that is on the smaller size, check doneness 15 minutes before the timer is set to go off. You don’t want to overcook the chicken. If the skin is getting too brown but the chicken isn’t done yet, tent aluminum foil over the top of the chicken.

Use an instant-read thermometer and take the internal temperature in the thickest part of the thigh. The best way to know when the chicken is done is to take the temperature in both the thickest part of the breast and the thigh. When it reaches 165 degrees, and the skin is golden brown, it is done. Remove from the oven and let the chicken rest for 15 minutes before carving. Why? If the meat is cut into right after removing from heat, the juices will simply run out. Allowing the chicken to rest allows the meat to relax, and then the juices distribute within the meat, making it deliciously moist.

After the chicken rests, it’s ready to carve. A sharp knife is key to carving a whole chicken. I always use a cutting board with a groove when carving as it catches the chicken juices. (pictured below) This helps to keep the kitchen cleaner. I will add these juices to the bone broth so that nothing goes to waste.

An optional step: deglaze the bottom of the pan with chicken broth or white wine to capture all of the flavor of the pan drippings by making into a gravy. Mix in a flour water mixture and bring to a boil to thicken, add salt if needed.

Instant Pot Option

What if you forgot to thaw a chicken in time for dinner? I love to use my Instant Pot for this moment! The chicken won’t have that crispy skin, but the pressure cooker allows you to cook the chicken, even from frozen in a fraction of the time. Learn how to use the pressure cooker for a whole chicken with this easy White Chicken Chili.

I hope you enjoy this Perfect Whole Roast Chicken Recipe as much as our family has over the years. I’d love to hear from you! Please rate the recipe, leave me a comment below and share with a friend so they can learn how to roast a whole chicken too! Don’t forget to tag photos #Lockremhomestead over on Instagram!