Featured Recipes, Recipes

Butterflied Chicken with Lemon & Rosemary Recipe

Posted on September 9, 2009

Serves 4

Ingredients:

  • 1 butterflied chicken (approx. 3-1/2 to 4 lbs.)
  • 3 long sprigs of fresh rosemary
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • more lemons to serve
  • 1 red onion
  • 6 tablespoons olive oil
  • Maldon or other sea salt

Directions:

(to butterfly a chicken just cut through the backbone from tail to the neck using poultry scissors open chicken up and wash out cavity)

  1. Sprinkle sea salt over chicken. Put chicken into a large freezer bag. Pull the waxily aromatic needles off 2 of the springs of rosemary and drop them on top.

  2. Cut lemon in half and squeeze juice into the bag, chucking the rinds into the bag afterwards. Pour in olive oil and then close bag. Give it a good squeeze around the edges before placing in the refrigerator. Marinate chicken for a couple of hours, or overnight–even a couple of days.

  3. Preheat oven to 425. Once chicken is at room temperature, spread chicken out (skin side up) along with lemon rinds and onion pieces (cut onion into quarters) on a foil-lined roasting pan. Add remaining sprig of rosemary torn into a few pieces and tucked into leg and breast of chicken. Cook for 45 minutes. The chicken should be crisp-skinned and tender. Take the pan out and cut chicken into four pieces. Arrange on a platter with onions and more lemon wedges.