This easy and delicious roast chicken with lemon white wine sauce can be made in an hour and comes together in one pan. How great is that?!
Sunday or any day roasts have become a favourite of mine. Over the course of the past year, I’ve made many roasts, but I think my favourite are roast chickens. I love how you can have a specific roast chicken in mind and plan for it – like Samin’s buttermilk roast chicken. Or you can mix together whatever veggies you have in the fridge and pantry, lay a chicken on top and watch the magic happen. Because veggies roasted in chicken fat are amazing.
Coming back to this recipe, it’s an instant favourite in my house. The recipe originates from the queen of the kitchen herself, Ina Garten, in her cookbook Cooking for Jeffery. While my version is largely the same, I removed the fennel in favour of more thyme and removed the garlic all together. I also suggest adding some water to the pan after removing the chicken to get more sauce.
Why I love Roasted Chicken with Lemon White Whine Sauce
I always joke with my husband that if I were to write a cookbook it would be called Cooking for Ryan and this recipe would be in it. Partially because we joke that we should teach our single friends how to make it to impress their dates. But also because it is really delicious, easy and pretty hands off owing to the fact that the sauce gets made from the drippings in the skillet as the chicken is cooking. For us it’s a great date night recipe because besides sides (we roast some potatoes on a separate pan and microwave some broccoli) you can spend time with each other instead of slaving over the stove.
Recipe Notes
How to spatchcock chicken. Spatchcocking a chicken is quite simple. I take good kitchen scissors and with the breast side down, cut out the back bone. Then flip it over, breast side up, and put pressure on the breast to flatten out the bird. I also like to tuck the wings behind themselves to make it look as if the chicken is putting his hands behind its head. This video can also help you out.
Roasting dish. I use a 12-inch Lodge cast iron skillet. It perfectly fits a spatchcocked chicken and is great size for the sauce that gets made.You can use really anything you have on hand that will fit the chicken laying flat.
Dry your chicken well. Before coating the chicken in olive oil, make it is dry. Moisture sticking around on the skin (that is not a fat) will make it harder to crisp up the skin.
Be careful pouring the wine. Make sure you pour the wine around the chicken – again this has to do with crispy skin!
Stretch the sauce. I am a sauce hog! Therefore I like more sauce than any recipe really makes. So to stretch the sauce I like adding a third of a cup of hot water to the pan once the chicken has been removed to stretch it out.
ROAST CHICKEN WITH LEMON WHITE WINE SAUCE
This easy and delicious roast chicken with lemon white wine sauce can be made in an hour and comes together in one pan. How great is that?!
INGREDIENTS
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1 lemon, sliced
- 3-4 lb. chicken, spatchcocked
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 1 tbsp. kosher salt
- 4-5 sprigs of thyme, leaves removed
- ⅓ white wine
INSTRUCTIONS
-
Heat oven to 425°F.
-
Scatter onion and lemon slices at the bottom of a 12-inch cast iron skillet (or heavy bottom roasting dish).
-
Place chicken on top, breast side up, making sure the legs are farther away from the handle. By doing this, the legs will be at the back of the oven where it is hotter and better for even cooking.
-
Drizzle olive oil over chicken and massage into chicken with salt and thyme.
-
Roast chicken for 30 minutes. Pour wine around the chicken making sure not to pour on top of the chicken (this will prevent browning). Cook for 15 to 20 minutes more, until the skin is golden and the temperature inserted into the thickest part of the breast reads 160°F.
-
Remove from pan and let cool for 5 minutes. At this point you can leave the sauce as is or add ⅓ cup of water and heat over medium-high heat until it reaches a simmer.
-
Cut into portions and served with the lemon white wine sauce spooned overtop.
Did you make this recipe?
Please let me know! Tag @thebeaderchef on Instagram and tag it #thebeaderchef
Tools I Used for Spicy Pork Noodles
Green links and buy now buttons in my posts are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a small affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting TBC!
