- 1 whole chicken, roughly 3 pounds
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- Grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed and finely chopped
- 1 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
- Leaves from 1 bunch of fresh thyme
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Discard the chicken giblets, or reserve for making broth. Rinse the chicken and pat it dry. Place the chicken in a roasting pan and season it liberally with salt and pepper, inside and out.
- In a small bowl, mix together the butter, oil, honey, lemon zest and juice, garlic, basil, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Use a fork to mash the butter if it will not mix evenly. Rub the mixture all over the chicken, massaging it in, and season the chicken once more with a couple dashes of salt and pepper. Stuff the chicken’s cavity with any excess seasoning and the 2 used lemons.
- Transfer the chicken to the oven and roast until a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh (without touching bone) registers 180F, about 1 hour 45 minutes. Remove the chicken from the oven and let it rest 5 minutes before carving.
- I find doubling the amount of seasoning to be necessary to thoroughly cover a standard jumbo grocery store chicken.
- It is best to put a portion of the seasoning in between the meat and the skin. To do so, insert a finger between the skin and the breast meat from near the cavity opening, gently wiggle until the skin loosens. This will provide an extra crispy skin while trapping all the flavors inside.
- For a crispier finish double the amount of honey and add 1 tablespoon brown sugar to the mixture. The seasoning can also benefit from a splash of soy sauce or other umami source.