Roasted Free-Range Chicken

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This is the easiest way to make a delicious roasted free-range chicken full of flavours for a festive family meal. The chicken preparation time is a maximum of 15 minutes, the rest is the job of the oven, and you can spend your time with the rest of the family or guests.

For the success of this recipe, free-range chicken is essential. Only in this way will you fully feel the juiciness and tenderness of the meat, combined with the flavours of the added ingredients.

Compared to the recipe for Cosori air fryer whole chicken, where I flavoured the chicken on the outside and did not use butter, and to the garlic butter roasted chicken recipe, where I inserted the butter under the skin, now we will do it entirely differently.

In the roasted free-range chicken recipe, the chicken will be filled with the ingredients, so the flavours will penetrate the meat from the inside, and I will grease it well with butter on the outside.

Ingredients

The main ingredient, the star of this recipe, is the free-range chicken, the size of which depends on the number of servings; mine is 1.4 kg (3 lbs), enough for four servings. For flavouring, I will use a lemon, a medium-sized onion, four cloves of garlic and an apple because I like the aroma of the apple baked in the oven and the chicken.

Among the aromatic plants, I will use fresh parsley and thyme and externally, I will grease the chicken with 150 g of unsalted butter.

How to Make the Roasted Free-Range Chicken

Filling the Whole Chicken

First, I prepare the chicken and cut and remove the unwanted parts, i.e. the rump, the paws and the wing tips. Wiping the chicken with a paper towel is also good, so the skin is as dry as possible.

Cut the larger ingredients, such as the onion, apple and lemon, into quarters so that they fit more easily and try to insert them into the internal cavity of the chicken. If the chicken is a more prominent size, it should fit all these ingredients; I have a few quarters left that I will put outside in the baking tray.

I introduced the parsley leaves at the end because they also protect the ingredients from coming out of the chicken.

I season the outside of the chicken with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and massage it well into the skin. Spread the butter at room temperature on all sides of the chicken and place it in the baking tray, in which you have put two spoons of oil, breast side up.

Put the rest of the remaining ingredients in the pan with the chicken, cover with aluminium foil, and that’s it; your work is done.

Roasting

Place the tray in the oven preheated to 180 C Fan (356 F) for an hour, during which time the chicken will be tender, and all the flavours will penetrate the meat.

Remove the foil and baste the chicken with the butter juice from the tray. Put it back for 10-20 minutes, depending on each oven, until the skin becomes crispy and acquires a beautiful golden-brown colour.

This was my easy roasted free-range chicken recipe, with perfect taste and just waiting to be devoured once I place it on a plate in the middle of the table.

Serving

The roasted free-range chicken can be served with different side dishes such as mashed potatoes, fried potatoes, rice or grilled vegetables, and summer salads with gravy or garlic sauce.

Chicken meat is always at the top of preferences in most families, that’s why you will find many chicken recipes on our blog, such as:

• Chicken and Mushroom Alfredo
• Best Chicken Casserole Recipe
• Easiest Teriyaki Chicken Recipe
• Baked Stuffed Whole Chicken Recipe
• Creamy Homemade Chicken Stew Recipe
• Roasted Chicken Legs in the Oven
• Honey and Garlic Chicken Wings Recipe

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