Tarragon Roast Chicken

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: French

Diet: Gluten Free, Low Lactose

Keyword: simple roast chicken, tarragon roast chicken

Prep Time: 35

Cook Time: 45

Total Time: 1 15

Servings:

Calories: 445kcal

Simple roast chicken gets a new twist by adding tarragon. Only five ingredients—including the chicken—but full of flavor! And just a little bit fancy, too.

Print Recipe

US Customary - Metric

Equipment

Ingredients

1 whole chicken
½ cup olive oil
½ cup chopped fresh tarragon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
zest of one lemon
sea salt to taste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Coarsely chop the tarragon. Use a Microplane grater to zest the lemon before juicing it. Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest and salt in a small mixing bowl.
Pat the chicken dry and place it on a sheet pan. Cut out the backbone using a pair of kitchen shears. Flip the chicken over so it's breast-side up and press down on the breast bone to flatten it out.
Place the chicken in a zip top bag and pour in the marinade. Squish it all around in the bag to make sure it's evenly coated. Marinate at room temperature no longer than 30 minutes.
Place chicken in a cast iron skillet and pour remaining marinade over the top. Roast for 40-60 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken, until a meat thermometer inserted into the breast reaches 162 F. Remove from the oven and allow it to rest for about 10 minutes, then serve.

Notes

Don't let the chicken marinate for more than 30 minutes. The lemon juice will start to "cook" the chicken and result in a weird texture if it's left in there too long.
Once you've got the chicken in the zip top bag, place it in a casserole dish or plastic container just in case the bag gets punctured when you're trying to get the chicken fully coated with the marinade.
Get all the tarragon out of the bag when pouring the marinade over the top. Don't leave any flavor behind!
There's no need to truss the chicken. It will cook just fine without doing this so don't worry about it. No truss, no fuss!

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Nutrition