Lemon and Fresh Thyme Roasted Chicken

I had a ton of fresh thyme growing that I needed to use up. I love lemon and thyme together so I decided to roast a chicken using those ingredients. I wanted to keep the flavors simple so I just used, lemon juice, fresh thyme leaves, sea salt, freshly cracked pepper and garlic powder to season the bird. Since it was warm outside I used my "slow and low" roasting method so the oven wouldn't heat up the house. The chicken turned out delicious! The meat was moist and tender and the flavor was fantastic. Simple food is the best food in my opinion. I served this chicken with Roasted Baby Dutch Yellow Potatoes and my Cucumber Salad - the entire meal was terrific.

Lemon and Fresh Thyme Roasted Chicken:
Recipe and photos by For the Love of Cooking

• 1 5lb free range whole chicken, rinsed
• 2 lemons
• 1 handful of fresh thyme
• Sea salt
• Freshly cracked pepper
• Garlic powder
• 5-6 cloves of garlic
• 1/4 sweet yellow onion

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Carefully rinse chicken with cold water. Squeeze the lemon juice all over the entire bird then place the lemon halves inside the cavity of chicken. Take 3/4 of the thyme sprigs and remove the thyme leaves from stems by holding the top of the sprig and stripping the leaves downward. Sprinkle the thyme leaves all over the bird. Next, sprinkle the sea salt, freshly cracked pepper and garlic powder all over the chicken, to taste. Place the remaining thyme (including stems) inside the cavity of the chicken along with the garlic and onion.

Cover your roasting dish with tin foil then place chicken on a rack inside dish. Place the meat thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh, making sure not to touch bone. Roast uncovered for 3 1/2-4 hours or until thermometer reads 180 degrees. I start basting the bird after 2 hours and repeat every 1/2 an hour after that. If you want crispy skin, stop basting for the last hour of cooking time. Remove from the oven and let the bird "rest" for at least 10 minutes before carving. Enjoy!

Click here for a printable version of this recipe - For the Love of Cooking.net