This recipe for Fast Roasted Chicken can be ready in under one hour! It is great for entertaining or a weeknight dinner. It makes delicious leftovers or weekday lunches.
Roast chicken is my go-to meal because you can make it in under one hour if you spatchcock it. This means that you have to remove the backbone of the chicken so that the chicken lays flat. There are many video tutorials on how to do this, just Google "Spatchcock Chicken." Here is a video that I think does a great job explaining the process of spatchcock chicken.
One of the reasons I love to prepare a chicken this way is that it turns out moist every time. If you aren't in a hurry during the week, you can get the chicken in the oven and while it is roasting, prepare a salad, side, and mashed potatoes and you will be rewarded with a great meal.
The simple rub in this recipe is just what you need to put this chicken over the top, Feel free to trade out the spices with others that you like such as cumin and chili powder for the thyme and oregano.
Leftovers are great! You can eat them cold, make a chicken salad, sandwich, soup or a panini. The options are endless.
I hope you will give this recipe a try!
Till next time!
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Fast Roast Chicken
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 people 1x
- Category: Main Course
- Cuisine: American
Description
This chicken can be ready in under 1 hour! Great for company or a weeknight dinner. Makes delicious leftovers or weekday lunches.
Ingredients
- 1 each 4-5 pound while chicken
- 2 each lemons
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 3 cloves garlic (1 tbsp), minced
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground pepper
- ¼ cup olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Remove the chicken's backbone using a sharp chef's knife or poultry scissors. It is easier to cut if you cut as close to the backbone as possible. You can freeze the backbone, and once you have 5-8 backbones, you can make chicken stock.
- Using a Microplane, remove lemon peel. Be sure to grate only the yellow part of the lemon since the white part is bitter. You should have about 2 tsp of the grated lemon peel.
- Combine grated lemon peel, thyme, oregano, garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil.
- Pat the chicken dry using a paper towel. It is important to dry the chicken so that the skin will brown.
- Rub the above spice mixture all over the chicken.
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- Place chicken in a cast iron pan.
- Roast chicken for 30-40 minutes until the skin is crisp and an instant-read thermometer inserted in breast reaches 165 degrees F. Let rest 5-10 minutes to allow the juices to reabsorb. Cut desired pieces (thighs, legs, wings, breasts).
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 ounces
- Calories: 133
- Sugar: 0 g
- Sodium: 792.4 mg
- Fat: 12.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 0.1 g
- Protein: 5.7 g
- Cholesterol: 17.9 mg
Disclaimer: The nutritional information provided is approximate and calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavored to be as accurate as possible.
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Ellen
My family and I loved this recipe. It was the best roast chicken and took no time to cook!