Roast Chicken with Garlic

Recipe by The View From the Great Island

Roast Chicken with Garlic ~ making the perfect roast chicken is so much easier than you think, and so much better than rotisserie!

Ingredients

• 1 chicken, 3 1/2 - 5 pounds ( giblets removed)
• 10 whole heads of garlic
• 2 lemons (cut in wedges)
• 1 bunch fresh thyme
• 3 tbsp olive oil ((divided))
• salt and fresh cracked black pepper
• for basting
• 4 tbsp melted butter or olive oil

Method

1. Set oven to 425F
2. Slice the tip ends of the heads of garlic off to expose the cloves. Reserve the loose ends that you've chopped off.
3. Arrange the heads of garlic, cut side up, on the bottom of a roasting pan or casserole just big enough to hold the chicken. Brush the exposed tops with olive oil.
4. Stuff the cavity of the chicken with 1/2 of the lemon wedges and some of the reserved garlic tips (no need to remove the skins) Tie the legs securely together.
5. Rub the chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the chicken on top of the garlic in the roasting pan.
6. Roast the chicken for 20 minutes per pound, basting every 10 minutes with melted butter or olive oil. Make sure you baste the exposed garlic, too! As the chicken starts to release juices, you can baste with its own juices if you like.
7. If you cut between the wing and the leg and the juices should run clear, the chicken is done. It should be a nice golden brown. You can be sure by checking with an instant read thermometer inserted between the leg and breast, it should register 160-165F.
8. Let the chicken rest under foil for 10 minutes, then slice and serve with the garlic.

View the recipe instructions at The View From the Great Island