Garlic Roasted Chicken

I was shopping at Trader Joe's and saw these HUGE whole chickens and was inspired to roast a chicken for dinner.  When I say huge, I mean a 7 1/2 pound chicken... small turkey???  No, it really is a chicken but it does feel a bit like we are doing a Thanksgiving preview around here.  Watching some football, the bird is in the oven, not a bad way to spend out Sunday. 

Garlic Roasted Chicken

Recipe adapted from www.fortheloveofcooking.net

1 whole chicken
1 Tbsp. softened butter
2-3 tsp. minced garlic
1 small yellow onion, cut into wedges
6 cloves garlic, smashed
1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
olive oil cooking spray
salt/pepper, to taste
garlic powder, to taste

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Remove any giblets from the chicken and rinse chicken inside and out.  Pat dry.

In a small bowl, combine butter and 2 -3 tsp. minced garlic (to your taste preferences).  I go heavy on garlic because I love it!  Loosen the skin around the chicken breasts and coat breasts with butter mixture.

Coat outside of the chicken with cooking spray and season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. 

Combine parsley, smashed garlic cloves, and onion and stuff inside bird cavity.  Place the bird on a roasting rack on a roasting pan.

Bake chicken at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.  Turn heat down to 350 degrees and bake another 20 minutes per pound (so for me that was about 2 1/2 hours) or until the thickest part of the thigh without touching the bone reads 165 degrees on a meat thermometer.

Remove from heat and allow to sit for 10 minutes covered in tin foil lightly tented over the bird to allow the juices to redistribute before cutting and serving. 

Husband Rating: 5 out of 10

Food for Thought: If you plan to stuff your bird, add at least 15 minutes to your cooking time.