This easy slow-roasted chicken recipe is so good that you won't want to go back to the rotisserie chicken you can pick up at the deli counter. Instead, you have a near-perfect roasted chicken with beautiful, golden skin and flavorful meat that tastes of roasted garlic, spices, and fresh herbs.
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When I started teaching people to cook, I began with this recipe: chicken roasted to utter tenderness and flavored with herb and garlic butter. It's simple to make, deeply flavorful, and a great springboard for other recipes.
Plus, you can toss the bones into a pot to make bone broth when you're finished making it.
Why This Recipe Works
This low-and-slow approach yields rich and juicy chicken with crispy skin. It takes a little bit longer than classic roast chicken, but it's worth it.
Spreading herb- and garlic butter on the chicken makes the meat moist and flavorful.
Ingredients + Substitutions
Chicken should be about 4 pounds. Pasture-raised and free-range birds are the most nutritious options and also have the most flavor. Purchase an entire chicken. If it comes with giblets, discard them or save them for another use.
Butter helps keep the bird moist, and it's an avenue for conveying all the rich flavors of garlic, spices, and fresh herbs. Your butter should be at room temperature. Use chilled olive oil if you don't want to use butter, but chill it first so that it develops a spreadable consistency.
Garlic cloves lend flavor to the chicken. It marries well with both the spices and the fresh herbs, harmonizing their flavors.
Spices give the chicken a deliciously robust flavor. We're fond of the sweet, aromatic notes of fennel and the heat of crushed red pepper.
Fresh herbs include rosemary, sage, and thyme. These herbs partner beautifully with chicken, giving it a vibrant, herbaceous note. If you don't have fresh herbs, substitute 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning.
Onion lends moisture to the chicken as it bakes. You stuff quartered onion (no need to peel it), into the bird's cavity. It keeps the chicken moist as it roasts. If you don't have onion, use lemon instead.
Serving Suggestions
We love to partner slow-roasted chicken with crispy roasted potatoes and plenty of fresh vegetables. Green beans with bacon is a natural match, and crisp celery salad is also delicious. We also love spooning the rich golden pan juices over mashed potatoes.
Checking Doneness
The safest way to ensure your bird is properly cooked is to use a meat thermometer (also known as an instant-read thermometer). Insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh. If it reaches an internal temperature of at least 165 F (74 C), it's done.
But, when slow-roasting your chicken, it's better to let it cook to 185 F. While you may be worried that it might overcook, the result is super tender meat that, quite literally, falls off the bone.
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Variations
Add vegetables to the skillet. Tuck vegetables into the pan around the chicken for an easy one-pan meal. Hardy root vegetables and winter squash work best since they can withstand prolonged cooking in the oven. Potatoes, onions, garlic, and carrots are some of our favorites.
Adjust the herbs and spices. You can adjust the herbs and spices if you maintain the basic cooking technique and otherwise follow the instructions. Lemon zest and black pepper taste delicious when mixed into the herb butter. Smoked paprika is an excellent addition, too.
Recipe Questions
Remove the cooked meat from the bone and place it in an airtight container. Store it in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
If you don't have a cast iron skillet, you can roast the bird in a roasting pan or baking dish.
If the chicken skin is browning too quickly, you can loosely tent it with aluminum foil.
Brushjl says
Fabulous chicken, slow cooking is the only way to go IMHO. The skin was a beautiful chestnut brown color and crispy! Meat tender and flavorful. Perfect
Laura says
Hello! I have so appreciated the recipes and insight you share through your cookbook and website. This is a wonderful roast chicken. Loved the herbs tucked under the skin as well as butter and garlic. It's one of my favorites. Thank you!
Kate says
Hi, if adding vegetables to roasting pan, when during the cooking time would that be done. I tried the recipe without veggies the other day and it turned out great.
Jenny McGruther says
I typically add the veggies at the same time as the chicken. Keep it easy, you know!
Sonii says
Read this last night and had to go pull one of our birds out of the freezer to roast this morning. I will do it exactly but add a clove of heirloom garlic and a stem of rosemary to the cavity. Today I pick up some Bres de Poule chicks, that are suppose to be the most delicious meat chicken available in France. So excited to get started with this breed and see how it does in Texas ! Thanks for the inspiration and love your cookbook.
Kelsey says
I'm excited to have stumbled upon this, because I just put my name on the list at a farm for a pastured broiler. This is good info and as someone else commented, I have a Le Creuset so I will be watching it very carefully for the correct temp! Thank you for the information!!!
Sarah Dickinson says
This was A MA ZING. Thank you Jenny!
Jessica@SimpleMeaning says
I use this recipe so often that I just wanted to say, thank you!! There is something so wonderful about the simplicity and deliciousness of a roasted chicken. No fancy herbs, no truffles, nothing hard or hard-to-find. Yet such a warm, nourishing meal. And the smell of the roasting bird is amazing on a rainy, gray day!
Amanda says
I've made this twice now and both times are SO good. Today I brined my chicken for about 4 hours before roasting it and it is so moist! I flavored it with lemon zest, celery seed, garlic and plenty of sea salt and pepper. The house is smelling SO good. I just took it out of the oven and it is resting, but I had to take a teeny tiny bite. The bummer thing is I made this for the family but I'm headed out for a meeting and won't be eating dinner, hopefully they leave me leftovers! Thanks for posting this method because I'd never have thought to cook it so low and slow!
Emily says
I have a chicken roasting in the oven now. It's my second time making this recipe and it didn't disappoint the first time. I love how it is simple, yet so elegant; plus the minimal prep leaves me plenty of time to make nice side dishes for a beautiful meal.
Tamara says
I do a semi-slow roast (for 2 hours)...but ALWAYS roast breast-side down...no trussing involved. Breast meat stays juicy and tender this way. I stuff the cavity with an organic apple for a lovely flavor...rosemary and thyme all around and some sliced shallots and garlic to boot---it has never let me down! I agree that fresh, free range birds are the tastiest! We are raising our own this year!
Pam says
Wow, this is great. I had just picked up a pasture-raised chicken, and roasted it the typical way I always have. The family was NOT impressed. I am excited now to try it again, your way! Thanks again.
Jojo says
Thanks for sharing this recipe! I'm so glad I found it, instead of just trying to roast a pastured chicken the conventional way.
I just tried it tonight. I had an almost 5 pound pastured chicken from the farm co-op I belong to. I roasted the chicken in a Le Creuset dutch oven with lid (with some potatoes and carrots tossed in) for 3 hours at 275F, and 30 minutes at 375F. Unfortunately, this came out too dry, and the temp reading I took at the end was a little over 200F. Yikes! I'm wondering if I could've just skipped the end step of raising the oven temperature to 375F. The chicken didn't brown much, anyway. I will definitely try it again, but will adjust the times and temps.
Kasi says
Made this tonight (with roasted acorn squash and green beans w/bacon) and it was delicious! I've never done the slow roasting before, always did it at higher heat for less time. Yum yum! And tomorrow, making stock.... perfect for a snowy winter day!
Carrie W says
I am making this for dinner guests tonight! My house smells heavenly and I learned how to truss a chicken; a skill that I am sure will enable me to escape the zombie apocalypse alive and well.
Crystal says
I've never trussed a chicken. Would you be able to do a post about the how-to of chicken trussing complete with step-by-step photos (I'm very visual)? If not, will you please direct me to a good source to learn this valuable art?
Thank you for your inspiring work!
Darrin says
I eat so much roast chicken my girlfriend thinks I'm insane. (Except these days, when I'm more likely to throw a couple on the grill!) I'd also suggest stabbing a lemon all over and placing it in the chicken's cavity. This way it automatically bastes while cooking, keeping the bird nice and juicy without you needing to tend to it every few minutes.
Tiffany says
I love making a roast chicken for the family on the weekend. It is so easy and the oven does all of the work but it tastes as if you have been slaving over it all day long.