This Roasted Chicken Recipe is an all-around winner. The simple cooking techniques and a handful of ingredients give you juicy meat that’s infused with garlic herb flavor and crispy, golden skin. It’s my go-to when I want to make a Sunday dinner or a holiday feel a little extra special.
Roasting is the ultimate cooking method for meat. Whether it’s your holiday turkey or an impressive ribeye roast, the oven takes care of the work while still giving you delicious results the whole family will love.
Dry Brine Roasted Chicken
Roasting a whole chicken involves so much more than simply throwing the bird in the oven. There are several techniques to learn to achieve a golden brown skin and moist and tender meat that’s cooked all the way through. Luckily, this easy Roasted Chicken Recipe has you completely covered.
I always begin my whole roasted chickens with a dry brine. This tenderizes the meat, fills it with flavor, and dries out the skin. Then I’ll stuff the cavity of the bird with fresh aromatics, like shallots, garlic, and fresh herbs, because they complement the natural poultry flavors so well. Before it’s placed in the oven, the chicken is seared in a hot skillet and basted in its own juices to build on those flavors.
The oven takes care of the rest, cooking the meat all the way through and infusing every bite with herbaceous, savory, and aromatic flavors. The result is a satisfying whole roast chicken that’s golden, crispy-skinned, and tender throughout.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Despite the numerous steps in this recipe, roasting a whole chicken only requires a handful of everyday ingredients. I do, however, recommend splurging on the highest-quality ingredients you can find to give the chicken a gourmet edge.
- Chicken – I like roasting a 3 1/2 to 4-pound whole chicken with the giblets removed. This always leaves me with enough chicken for my whole family.
- Seasonings – When I dry brine chicken, I rub a generous amount of coarse kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper into the skin. If you’d like to add more flavor, you can season the chicken with poultry seasoning in addition to the salt and pepper.
- Aromatics – I stuffed the bird with a halved shallot, garlic cloves, and sprigs of fresh rosemary and thyme. Small onions, lemon wedges, fresh sage leaves, bay leaves, fresh parsley, and even apple slices would pair well, too.
- Oil – I seared the chicken in olive oil, but avocado oil or another high-heat oil will work.
- Butter – After the sear, I baste the chicken with unsalted butter for more richness.
How to Roast a Whole Chicken
Season: First, I pat the chicken completely dry on all sides (including inside the cavity) using paper towels. Next, I place the chicken on a rack set over a sheet tray and season it with salt and pepper. I like to massage the seasonings over the chicken skin with my hands to help them stick.
Dry brine: I transfer the seasoned chicken (still on the rack) to the fridge. Then, I let it chill for 4 to 24 hours.
Pierce the skin: When I’m ready to cook, I remove the chicken from the fridge. Next, I lightly puncture the skin with a toothpick or skewer. This little trick helps the fat render, yielding extra-crispy skin without compromising the juicy meat underneath.
Stuff and truss: I stuff the cavity with the aromatics and herbs, then I truss the chicken by folding the wings behind the back and tying the legs together with kitchen twine.
Sear: In a large, heavy-bottomed oven-safe skillet, I heat the olive oil over high heat until it just starts to smoke. I carefully place the chicken breast side down into the hot pan. I immediately reduce the heat to medium-high and let it sear undisturbed for 2 minutes. Then, using a thick wooden spoon, I tilt the chicken upright and sear the sides for another 2 minutes each.
Baste: I flip the chicken breast side down again, reduce the heat to low, and add in a few tablespoons of butter. I baste the meat with the melted butter, then flip the chicken over and baste the top side for another minute or two.
Roast: I drain off any excess butter and transfer the whole skillet (with the chicken breast side up) into a preheated 425°F oven. I roast the chicken for 45 to 50 minutes.
Rest before carving: I let the roasted whole chicken rest at room temperature before carving.
Chef Tip + Notes
Searing the chicken in a sizzling hot skillet before placing it in the oven is the secret to the best roast chicken recipe. The high heat in the pan instantly starts the browning process, which only gets better after basting the skin with melted butter. You’ll end up with deeply flavorful, golden skin that oven heat alone can’t deliver.
- Short on time? If you don’t have time to dry brine the chicken, simply season the skin with salt and pepper before searing the bird on the stove. The skin won’t be as crispy, and the flavors won’t be as complex, but the roast chicken will still be good. For an even quicker method, check out my Easy Roast Chicken recipe.
- Pierce the skin: Making small, shallow punctures in the skin (all over the thighs, drumsticks, breast, wings, and backside) after brining helps release fat as the chicken roasts in the oven, leading to crispy skin and juicy meat.
- Roast with vegetables: You can roast your chicken over a bed of carrots, onions, and red potatoes if you’d like. First, toss the vegetables in olive oil, salt, and pepper, then dump them into the bottom of a roasting pan. Roast the chicken on a wire rack placed inside the pan so the drippings can drip over top of the vegetables.
- How to tell when it’s done: The best way to tell if your roasted chicken is done is with a meat thermometer. Pierce the thickest part of the breast with the thermometer. When it reads between 155ºF and 160°F, it’s ready to come out of the oven. As it rests, the temperature will rise to a perfect 165°F.
- Carving roasted chicken: Refer to my guide, How to Carve a Chicken, before slicing and serving the meat.
Serving Suggestions
This roast chicken recipe usually makes an appearance during our Sunday family dinners. I’ll typically serve it with fairly simple side dishes. I like a bed of creamy mashed potatoes and a side of roasted green beans, so I don’t take anything away from the meat’s delicious flavors.
Roasted whole chicken is also a fantastic alternative to turkey during the holiday season. You can never go wrong serving it next to a generous scoop of classic stuffing. It’s also delicious with crispy roasted brussels sprouts . I like to finish it by drizzling everything in a generous amount of gravy.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: The chicken is best served as soon as it’s done resting. If you’re not quite ready to serve it, cover it with foil and place it in a low-temperature oven for up to 30 minutes.
How to Store: Store the carved and cooled chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for 4 days.
How to Reheat: Place the chicken pieces on a baking sheet and cover them with foil. Warm in a 375°F oven for 10-15 minutes, or until heated through.
More Poultry Recipes
- Brick Chicken
- Brined Smoked Turkey
- Spatchcock Cornish Hen
- Spatchcock Turkey
- Grilled Spatchcock Chicken
Roasted Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- One 3 ½ to 4-pound roasting chicken, giblets removed
- 4 teaspoons coarse salt
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 peeled shallot, sliced in half
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 6 to 8 sprigs fresh thyme
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Pat the chicken dry on all sides with paper towels, including in the inside cavity.
- Place the chicken on a rack over a sheet tray or plate, and evenly and generously season all sides of the chicken and in the cavity with the salt and pepper. Feel free to rub it in as well.
- Put the chicken on the rack in the fridge, uncovered, for 4 to 24 hours.
- Remove the chicken and, using a toothpick or skewer, make about 15 to 20 little pierces or punctures, only going as deep as breaking through the skin in each part, so the thighs, drums, breast, wings, and even the back side.
- Stuff the chicken cavity with the shallot, garlic, rosemary, and thyme.
- Fold the wings back behind the back and truss the chicken to keep it packed in tight and to cook it more evenly.
- In a large carbon steel or cast iron skillet, add the olive oil and heat it over high heat until it begins to lightly smoke.
- Place the chicken breast side down into the pan, and as soon as it’s in there, I turn the heat down slightly to medium-high. Let it stand for only about 2 minutes. Using a thick wooden spoon, hold it upright for that same amount of time, about 2 minutes, and then I’ll repeat the process on the other side of it for the same amount of time.
- Flip it so that it’s breast side down, turn the heat down to low, and add in the butter and baste the chicken for about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip it over and baste the top for about 1 to 2 minutes. Drain off as much of the butter as you can.
- Add the chicken to the pan and place it in the preheated oven on a lower third rack and cook for 45 to 50 minutes or until it reads 155° to 160° in the thickest part of the breast.
- Let it rest at room temperature for 10 to 12 minutes before carving and serving.
Roasted Chicken Recipe