Roasted Garlic Chicken

Roasted garlic chicken recipe, whole chicken, brined in a garlic salt brine, then roasted.

By
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer

Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.

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Published November 01, 2006
Elise Bauer
Roasted Garlic Chicken
Elise Bauer

Would you like to know a trick to tender, succulent, roast chicken?

Overnight brining.

We usually roast chickens breast side down to ensure tender breast meat. But with the overnight brining in a roasted garlic and lemon juice marinade, the breast meat was perfectly moist, even cooked breast up.

The garlic flavor is subtle, not strong or overwhelming, due to roasting the garlic first.

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Roasted Garlic Chicken

Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 60 mins
Total Time 65 mins
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup roasted garlic cloves
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 lemon, cut into 4 wedges
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 (3-4 pound) whole roasting chicken

Method

  1. Make the brine:

    Prepare the brine by combining garlic, water, salt, pepper and olive oil in a blender. Squeeze the juice from the lemon wedges into the brine, blend. Stir in the bay leaves.

  2. Brine the chicken overnight:

    Place chicken in a large, resealable plastic bag, or in a large non-reactive bowl. Pour the brine all over the chicken in the bag, or in the bowl. Add the (already squeezed) lemon wedges.

    Squeeze out all the air from the bag and seal, or place plastic wrap over the chicken in the bowl. Refrigerate overnight - 12 to 24 hours.

    roasted-garlic-chicken-method-1
    Elise Bauer
  3. Roast the chicken:

    Preheat the oven to 375°F. Remove the chicken from the brine. Pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle salt and pepper all over the chicken.

    Place the chicken on a rack, in a roasting pan, breast side up. Roast for about an hour, until the juices run clear from the thigh when pierced with a fork. (Thigh meat should have an internal temperature of 165°F when tested with a meat thermometer.)

    Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before carving and serving.

Recipe adapted from The Marshall Field's Cookbook 2006. (Sometimes available on eBay.)