Roast Chicken with Garlic, Thyme and Lemon

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I’ve probably roasted thousands of chickens over the years. My favorite way to do it, hands down (wings down??) is the way my mom taught me. All you need is fresh thyme, a head of garlic, a lemon, a tablespoon or two of Dijon mustard, half an onion, olive oil, salt and pepper. 


Use a whole chicken or ask your butcher to cut one in to 8 pieces. They’re usually more than happy to do this and it cooks much faster with no need for carving. I usually cut the breasts in half after they’re cooked. 

Roast Chicken with Garlic, Thyme and Lemon

  • 1 chicken, cut in to 8 pieces or whole


  • 1 lemon


  • 1 head of garlic


  • 1/2 onion


  • 1 bunch of thyme (about 3-4 tablespoons chopped)


  • 2 Tbs dijon mustard (optional)


  • olive oil


    STEPS 

  1. Heat oven to 400. 
  2. Cut lemon in quarters. 
  3. Slice onion into 1/4” thick slices. 
  4. Smash garlic with the palm of your hand or the bottom of a heavy pan to separate it into cloves. You don’t need to peel the cloves but get rid of any large flakes of skin. 
  5. Pull thyme leaves from stems and roughly chop (a little stem is ok as long as it’s not really tough). I use a lot, about 3-4 tablespoons once chopped, but you can use less or dry if that's all you have. 
  6. Lightly oil a sheet pan or large roasting pan and place onion and garlic in it. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. 
  7. Place chicken pieces around onions and garlic. If you’re doing a whole chicken just put it in the middle of the pan with onions and garlic around it. -
  8. Rub chicken with olive oil and Dijon mustard, squeeze lemon over everything and drop lemon wedges in pan. 
  9. Generously salt and pepper chicken and sprinkle with chopped thyme. Drizzle with a bit more olive oil. 
  10. Place pan in oven and roast about 45-50 minutes* until chicken is cooked through and golden. Check half way through and stir onions around if they’re starting to burn. If the onions are getting too much color, you can add 1/2 cup of water or white wine to the pan when you stir them. This should keep everything moist and will add to your pan juice. You can also turn the pan around half way at this point to ensure even cooking if you don't have a convection oven. If you have a meat thermometer the internal temp in the thigh should be 165 degrees. If the chicken is cooked but not golden enough, put pan under the broiler for a couple minutes. Just watch it carefully so you don’t burn everything. 
  11. Let rest for 10-20 minutes. Serve with the roasted onions and garlic from the pan and spoon any pan juice over chicken.
  12.  *imf you're roasting a whole chicken it will take an hour to an hour and 30 minutes, depending on size. Also, lower heat to 350 after 45 minutes.PS

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