I’ve marinated chicken parts countless times, bud had never marinated a whole chicken before. It makes sense though. Clean the chicken out (saving the neck to make chicken broth later!), then marinate half a day or even overnight before roasting according to your usual degree and time preferences. (Here’s a recap of various roasting times and temperatures.)
This came out fantastically good, full of flavor and moist. Even the daughter who has declared that she doesn’t like chicken said I can do this every week and she’ll eat it up!
Roasted Marinated Whole Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 cup Dijon mustard
- 1 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup lemon juice and reserve the rinds
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 whole chicken
- a few sprigs of fresh rosemary
- a few sprigs of fresh thyme
Instructions
- Whisk together the Dijon, oil, lemon juice, soy sauce, garlic, salt and pepper for the marinade. Marinate a whole cleaned chicken at least 4 hours.
- Put a lemon rind or two along with the rosemary and thyme sprigs in the cavity of the chicken.
- Roast at 375 until done, basting periodically, probably about 2 hours for a 4-5 lb chicken. Or roast at 325 for 3 hours. Pulling at the drumstick to see if it moves easily is one way to tell if it’s done. Or get yourself an instant meat thermometer to be sure.
This is one of the most divine recipes for chicken that I have ever tasted
An addition to the recipe to add more flavor is loosening the chicken skin and applying the marinade right to the meat. It is great!
I made this last night and I found the marinade much saltier than I expected… I may have added too much salt ‘too taste.’ My marinade was quite thick and when I basted it just sat on top of the skin. Maybe I’ll brush it on next time. It wasn’t the most attractive roast chicken but tasty otherwise. (Disclaimer: I’m a novice!!)
I flattened a whole chicken, used your marinade recipe and then cooked it in my chicken press. VERY tasty! The chicken was moist and had a great flavor.
Thanks!
I made this recipe with an organic free range chicken and it was divine. Both of my picky eaters (ages 8 and 9)loved it! Thank you for a delicious treat!