Ingredients
Scale
- 1 whole chicken
- 1 lemon, halved
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 1/2 bunch fresh Italian flat leaf parsley, stems removed
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
- paprika
- Your favorite root vegetables for roasting (or green beans, brussels sprouts for Keto + SCD). You can add your veggies, potatoes, carrots, onions, leeks, turnips, parsnips, or celery root (celeriac) under the cooking rack to roast along with the chicken. Toss beforehand with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and fresh herbs like rosemary or thyme if desired.
Instructions
- Remove whole chicken from packaging, pat dry thoroughly with paper towels.
- Rub salt and pepper liberally into the cavity. Squeeze the juice from one half of the lemon into the cavity and then place the rind as far back into the cavity as it will go, peel side in. Place fresh parsley into the cavity along with the fresh rosemary and crushed garlic.
- Now place the other unsqueezed lemon half peel side out to cover the opening to the cavity.
- Truss the chicken with kitchen twine to hold everything in place. Note: I like to bend the legs all the way backward before trussing so that the joints break. This makes them easier to remove after cooking.
- Once the bird is trussed, sprinkle the whole bird liberally with salt and place it uncovered on the bottom shelf of refrigerator for one to eight hours. This will allow the outside of the bird to dry out, which results in crispier skin once roasted.
- Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Place the bird on a cooking rack inside a large roasting pan and sprinkle the top of the chicken all over with paprika.
- Cook at 450 for 20 minutes and then reduce heat to 375. At this point you can remove the roasting pan from the oven and carefully add your root vegetables under the cooking rack. Cook for another 40-45 minutes, until chicken skin is well browned and chicken has an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Do not baste. Please note that larger birds may require an additional 10-15 minutes of cooking time.
- Serve + enjoy! Cover and refrigerate leftovers.
- Prep Time: 20 min
- Cook Time: about an hour
- Category: Low-Carb
- Method: Roasting
- Cuisine: Dinner
