Ingredients
Roasted Chicken:
- 1 whole chicken
- Seasoning (salt and pepper or homemade lemon-pepper)
- 1 onion (divided in half and sliced into strips)
- 1–2 cans chickpeas (rinsed and drained (no-salt added, 15.5 ounces cans))
- Optional: Fresh limes or lemons (for serving)
- Optional: Fresh cilantro leaves or sliced tops from green onions (for serving)
Lemon-Pepper Seasoning:
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper or about 12 grinds from my pepper grinder
- 1/2 teaspoon rosemary (chopped or crumbled if dry)
- 1 lemon rind (grated)
Instructions
Roasted Chicken:
- Place your oven rack about midway in your oven.
- Preheat your oven to 500F.
- Get out your roasting pan. I prefer using a large steel roasting pan or cast-iron skillet (see the suggested kitchen resources below), but a regular roasting pan can work too.
- Take a fully-defrosted, whole chicken and remove the giblets and neck (I set them aside or freeze them to make chicken broth).
- Spatchcock the chicken by cutting out the chicken’s backbone. The easiest way to do this is to lay the chicken breast side down in your pan, then use kitchen shears to cut on both sides of the backbone. Set the backbone aside (again, I use it to make chicken broth). Here’s a link to a photo showing you what this looks like.
- With the chicken cavity side up, season it with salt and pepper or homemade lemon-pepper seasoning.
- Turn the chicken over and flatten it with your hands so it’s flat against your pan.
- Cut your onion in half, and then slice it into medium-size strips.
- Sprinkle these onion pieces around the chicken.
- Depending on the size of your roasting pan/skillet, arrange 1-2 rinsed and drained cans of chickpeas around the chicken.
- Season the top (skin side) of the chicken and the chickpeas.
- Tent the pan/roaster with foil.
- Bake at 500F for 15 minutes.
- Remove the foil tent and continue roasting for about 15 minutes.
- Chicken is done when it’s pierced between the breast and leg and the juices run clear. I use an instant read thermometer to make sure. It should read 165F. Insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh (avoiding touching a bone).
- Optional: squeeze lemon or lime wedges over the chicken and chickpeas and use squeezed wedges as garnish.
- Optional: garnish with cilantro or green onion tops.
Lemon-Pepper Seasoning:
- Grate the peel of one lemon. This is easier to do before you juice or cut the lemon. Try to make sure you don’t grate into the lemon pith too much. (The pith is the white layer right underneath the yellow peel.)
- Add the salt, pepper, and rosemary then blend.
- One batch of this seasoning is more than enough for 1 chicken. I usually have a little bit left over that I set aside for later.
Notes
We recommend using organic ingredients when possible.
If you’re not up for handling whole chicken or spatchcocking it, substitute a pre-cut whole chicken or your preferred mix of chicken breasts, thighs, and legs. Cooking time will likely be a little quicker when using pieces vs. a whole, chicken.
This recipe can be as simple as you want it to be. If you don’t want to take the time to make a lemon-pepper seasoning, just use salt and pepper.
Make sure you calibrate your thermometer before using it. Even the best thermometers can be off by several degrees. Here’s a link that shares instructions on how to calibrate a thermometer at different altitudes.
To save time you may want to spatchcock several chickens at once when you buy them. Not only will this make it easier when you’re ready to cook, but also the chicken will defrost quicker!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: American
