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Food & Recipes

Garlic Herb Roasted Chicken With Tarragon Is the Savory Star of Any Family Meal

The perfect roasted chicken recipe is one that is sure to remind you of a good, warm, home-cooked meal. Baked to tender perfection, a well-seasoned roasted chicken is the savory star of any main course. And a tasty chicken seasoning is easy to make and doesn’t require more than a few ingredients. “This is my standard roast chicken,” says chef Brigitte Hafner. “It’s super easy and delicious. I use tarragon because it’s such a good match with chicken and it grows wild in my garden, but sage or thyme also work really well.” This recipe calls for a simple butter, garlic, and herb mixture with just a subtle kick of citrusy lemon. And what’s more, once you prepare the chicken, all you have to do is pop it in the oven — no need to stand over a hot stove! To make our simple, Garlic Herb Roasted Chicken with Tarragon, follow the recipe below.

Ingredients

  • 2 oz. butter, softened
  • 2 oz. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup (firmly packed) tarragon leaves, coarsely chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • Finely grated rind of 1 lemon
  • 1 chicken (3 to 4 pounds), brought to room temperature
  • Lemon halves, for squeezing

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine butter, oil, tarragon, garlic and lemon rind in a bowl.
  2. Carefully separate skin from breast of chicken by running your fingers under skin, keeping skin intact. Evenly distribute most of the herb butter under skin with your hands, rubbing remaining over the chicken.
  3. Season chicken with salt, then truss legs with kitchen string and fold wings under.
  4. Transfer to a roasting pan and roast, basting every 20 minutes, until the juices run clear when a thigh is pierced with a skewer (45 minutes for a three-pound chicken and up to 1 hour and 15 minutes for a four-pound chicken). Set aside loosely covered with foil to rest (15 to 20 minutes), then spoon over pan juices mixed with a squeeze of lemon to serve.

This recipe originally appeared on our sister site, Gourmet Traveller.

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