Roast Lemon Chicken
Inspired by techniques from America's Test Kitchen.
A whole chicken is butterflied flat, rubbed under the skin with a lemon zest and sugar mixture, then roasted over a pan of broth and lemon juice so the drippings become a ready-made pan sauce. Finishing that liquid with cornstarch, butter and parsley turns a simple roast into a chicken with its own citrus gravy.
Always check the labels of the products you use.
Method
- 1
Season the chicken. Set a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 245 °C (225 °C fan). Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Stir the lemon zest, sugar and 1 teaspoon of fine salt together in a small bowl. Work about two-thirds of this mixture under the skin with your fingers, spreading it over the breast and thigh meat. Season the chicken all over with the remaining salt and the pepper and set it in a roasting pan.
- 2
Build the roasting liquid and roast. Whisk the chicken broth, 240 ml water, the lemon juice and the remaining zest mixture together in a jug, then pour it into the roasting pan around the chicken. The liquid should come right up to the skin of the thighs; top up with a little more water if it falls short. Roast until the skin is deep golden brown and the thigh meat reaches 77-79 °C on a thermometer, 40-45 minutes.
- 3
Rest the chicken. Transfer the chicken to a carving board and let it rest for 20 minutes while you make the sauce.
- 4
Make the sauce. Pour the liquid left in the roasting pan, along with any juices from the chicken, into a saucepan (you should have about 355 ml). Skim off the fat, then simmer over medium-high heat until reduced to about 235 ml, roughly 5 minutes. Whisk the cornstarch with the 15 ml water until smooth, whisk it into the saucepan, and simmer until just thickened, about 2 minutes. Off the heat, whisk in the butter and parsley and season with salt and pepper.
- 5
Carve and serve. Carve the chicken and serve straight away, passing the sauce at the table.
Storage
Refrigerate leftover chicken and sauce in separate airtight containers and eat within 3-4 days, or reheat gently until piping hot. Cool leftovers in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours (within 1 hour on a day above 32°C).
Why this label?
56.2 g protein for 727 kcal = 7.7 g per 100 kcal, so protein gives about 31% of the energy. High Protein needs at least 20% (5 g per 100 kcal), the condition in the Annex to EU Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. How we decide
EU nutrition claims
- Low sugars: 0.9 g sugars per 100 g (limit ≤ 5 g)
Per 100 g of the finished dish, worked out from the nutrition per serving and the lowest likely cooked weight (about 219 g a serving), so the true values are, if anything, lower. Thresholds from the Annex to EU Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. How we decide
Free sugars
1 g per serving
2 % of the 50 g daily maximum · 4 % of the ideal 25 g
Free sugars under 50 g a day, ideally about 25 g, based on WHO free-sugar guidance (not endorsed by WHO). The share shown is the share of one serving. WHO
Equipment
- paper towels
- small bowl
- fine grater
- citrus juicer
- roasting pan
- 1-litre measuring jug
- whisk
- instant-read thermometer
- carving board
- carving knife
- small saucepan
- spoon for skimming fat
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 727 kcal |
| Protein | 56.2 g |
| Carbohydrate | 5.6 g |
| of which sugars | 1.9 g |
| of which free sugars | 1 g |
| Fat | 52.6 g |
| of which saturates | 17.9 g |
| Fibre | 0.7 g |
| Salt | 3.51 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
7.7 g meets High Protein (≥ 5 g, 20% of energy)
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
