lemon garlic and rosemary chicken

This is a fancy baked chicken recipe that you can impress with, without having to buy expensive ingredients. The cook time is a general guide. I say a chicken is done when the thermometer inserted into the deepest areas is 165, or when slicing into the deepest area the meat is white and the juices run clear.

While this recipe calls for 400, I generally cook all of my chicken at around 375 and notice no significant difference. I check doneness by temperature and visual check.

• 1 whole chicken

• 3 lemons

• 12 cloves garlic

• 4 sprigs fresh rosemary

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp pepper

• half a stick of butter

1. Set the oven to heat at 400.

2. Chop the lemons into quarters and set aside four of them. Peel all the garlic cloves. Mince about four and put the minced garlic aside. Strip the rosemary leaves off the sprigs and set them aside. Separate the leaves of one sprig from the others.

3. Rinse out the chicken, Get a baking dish out. Put a rack in the bottom of the dish. Place the chicken on there, and fold the tips of the wings back under its back. If you don't have a rack you can use rolled up foil to keep the chicken out of the grease during cook.

4. Rub some pepper and salt on the chicken's insides. Stuff the chicken with the rosemary leaves (except the reserved leaves of one sprig), lemon wedges (reserving 4 lemon quarters), and the whole garlic cloves, all mixed together.

5. Take some aluminum foil and cover the chicken, trying not to have the foil touching the chicken(sometimes the skin will stick to the foil when you pull it off later, causing the skin to pull off). Put the chicken in the oven and set the timer for approximately an hour and a half.

6. In a small sauce pan add the half stick of butter, the lemon juice from the four reserved lemon wedges, the minced garlic, and the reserved rosemary leaves. Heat the ingredients on medium high. Once the butter is fully melted, stir it and allow it to continue boiling for another minute before turning the heat off. Leave the lemon garlic rosemary mix in the pan on the stove for the heat from the oven to keep it fluid.

7. Baste the chicken with the mix, replacing the foil when you are finished. Baste the chicken about every 15 minutes or so.

8. Take the foil off the chicken after an hour. You want the chicken to develop a crispy skin in this dish.

9. At an hour and a half, open up the oven and pull out the chicken. Cooking time varies based on size of chicken and how the oven bakes. Check the chicken to see if it is done. If it's done take it out. Otherwise leave the chicken in until done. Replace the foil if the skin begins to overcook before the chicken is done.

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