Honey-Roasted Chicken with Garlic, Lavender, and Roasted Vegetables Recipe on Food52 (2024)

Grill/Barbecue

by: Caroline Choe

September8,2017

4.4

7 Ratings

  • Serves 4-6

Jump to Recipe

Author Notes

This butterflied chicken is great for all days, nights, and seasons, but is particularly great for celebrations—be prepared for the scent of its cooking to make your house smell like heaven. The aromatics all work together on this one: garlic and onions play off each others' sweetness, the lavender and thyme bring out a floral taste, and smoked paprika lends a bit of depth to the honey. All the while, your side dish is being made right under the chicken, as opposed to a separate roasting pan.

The pan-dripped vegetables I chose for this recipe are ones that I've found to be the most favored amongst those I've made it for, but by all means, check out what's seasonal and looking great at the market that day, and cook accordingly. The drippings from the chicken and the marinade will just enhance it all, like really great backup singers.

*NOTE: Make sure your roasting pan is big enough to hold both vegetables and the spatchco*cked chicken. If you find there might be too much crowding with the vegetables, feel free to put a handful or more aside to cook another separately, or cook all the vegetables in a separate dish. —Caroline Choe

  • Test Kitchen-Approved

What You'll Need

Ingredients
  • 4 poundsroasting chicken, spatchco*cked
  • 10 whole garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1/3 cuprunny honey, or any good-quality honey
  • 1 1/2 tablespoonslavender honey (if you have)
  • 1 teaspoondried thyme, or 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 3 tablespoonsolive oil
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1/4 teaspoonsmoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoonKosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoonground black pepper
  • 3 medium potatoes, rinsed & skin-on, quartered (1 red, 1 yukon gold, 1 purple, if possible)
  • 1 broccoli crown, florets cut small
  • 1 cauliflower head, florets cut small (purple or yellow if available, for color)
  • 1 large carrot, peeled & sliced
  • 1 1/2 tablespoonsdried culinary lavender
Directions
  1. If you're unsure of how to best spatchco*ck / butterfly your chicken, feel free to follow along with this Food52 tutorial: https://food52.com/blog/10971-how-to-spatchco*ck-a-chicken-step-by-step
  2. In a bowl, make your marinade. First, crush your dried lavender to release their oils. You can do as I do: Crush and roll the dried lavender back and forth in your hands, or you can use a mortar and pestle for this. (A wooden spoon, bottom of a cup, etc., also work fine.)
  3. Once the lavender is crushed in your bowl, add in the honey (both regular and lavender, if you have it), olive oil, lemon juice, smoked paprika, thyme, crushed garlic cloves, chopped onion, Kosher salt and black pepper. Give it a good stir until all are combined, and add then add in the bay leaves.
  4. TIME TO MARINATE: In a large Ziploc refrigerator storage bag or plastic tupperware, place in the spatchco*cked chicken and pour in the marinade. Make sure the pieces are completely coated. (I like to best do this by sealing the Ziploc bag, and massaging the chicken with the marinade. Less mess!) The chicken will be best marinated overnight, or for at least 5 hours.
  5. When the chicken is done marinating, remove the bay leaves and discard. Remove the chicken and set aside; reserve the marinade. Preheat your oven to 425° F.
  6. In a roasting pan, place in your chopped and colorful vegetable medley (potatoes, carrot, broccoli, and cauliflower). Douse them with a bit of olive oil and the reserved chicken marinade (garlic, onions, and all), a dash of both salt and pepper, and toss until all are coated. Spread out on the bottom of the pan.
  7. Lay the chicken flat, skin-side down (not up), on top of the vegetables. Season the chicken with a bit of Kosher salt & pepper, and put the entire roasting pan into the oven to cook for about 30-minutes.
  8. After the 30 minutes are done, take the roasting pan out of the oven and carefully flip the chicken over with tongs, so it is now skin-side up. Season the surface of the chicken skin with salt and pepper, and put the roasting pan back into the oven to cook for another 25-30 minutes, or until the meat on the chicken thigh reads 165° on a meat thermometer (150° F on the breast meat). Or, if you don't have a meat thermometer, pierce the thickest part of the meat with a fork and see if the juices run clear (and not bloody).
  9. Once the chicken is done, take the roasting pan out of the oven and carefully remove the chicken to rest on a plate for about 10-15 minutes.Take this time to stir around the pan-dripped roasted vegetables and season them to your liking. Remove from the roasting pan, and to a serving plate.
  10. Once the chicken is rested, carve up to your liking (half, quarter, however you want). Serve atop the roasted vegetables.

Tags:

  • American
  • Chicken
  • Clove
  • Honey
  • Potato
  • Vegetable
  • Paprika
  • Carrot
  • Garlic
  • Thyme
  • Make Ahead
  • Serves a Crowd

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Steve Sanders

  • Jonathan Dine

  • Jasser Abu-Giemi

  • Caroline Choe

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8 Reviews

Steve S. October 14, 2018

In addition to juices, doesn't the chicken produce a lot of fat that the vegetables are then sitting in and absorbing?

Jonathan D. February 13, 2018

How different would this be with a whole chicken already cut into eight pieces?

Jane September 23, 2017

This sounds delicious, but isn't there a concern about reusing marinade that has had raw chicken in it?

Jasser A. March 5, 2018

No because it's cooking for just as long as the rest of the chicken is.

Sharon September 23, 2017

Why not marinate the vegetables with the chicken, or is that too long for vegetables to marinate.

Caroline C. September 23, 2017

Hi Sharon! I found that sometimes the flavor just ended up getting diluted from the water of the vegetables overnight, or it just didn't turn out the way I originally intended. But by all means, try it however you'd like! If you'd like to marinate your vegetables, perhaps you can do it separately in another bag and that might help! Happy cooking!

kevin C. September 22, 2017

Hi I didn't see a line in the recipe for the amount of dried lavender to be used.

Caroline C. September 22, 2017

Hi, Kevin. It's at the bottom of the ingredient list: 1 & 1/2 tbsp of dried culinary lavender. Happy cooking!!

Honey-Roasted Chicken with Garlic, Lavender, and Roasted Vegetables Recipe on Food52 (2024)

FAQs

What's the difference between roast chicken and roasted chicken? ›

Both are correct, but they have subtly different meanings.
  • Roasted chicken describes meat that has been cooked by roasting.
  • Roast chicken is a dish made by roasting a chicken.
Jan 17, 2021

Why is roast chicken so good? ›

The other advantage is that bone-in meats stay juicy because bone conducts heat and slows the process by which the meat dries out. That's why your whole roasted chicken is so impossibly tender compared to other methods. Bones may slow down the cooking time, but they are protecting the meat from being overdone.

What is the tastiest part of roasted chicken? ›

And then you've got the skin, which is, in our opinion, the best part of any cut of chicken. Well-cooked chicken skin gets nice and crispy, and if you're cooking it right, it's covered in herbs and spices.

What is the difference between roast and roasted? ›

There isn't a difference. It's more normal to use the 'roast' version, though. For example, you might say 'For Sunday lunch, we usually have roast beef with roast potatoes. ' 'Roasted' is a past participle, and it refers to the process of browning and crisping in the oven.

Should chicken be covered when roasting in oven? ›

When chicken is covered while baking, it traps steam and moisture within the dish, resulting in juicier results. The covering helps prevent excessive evaporation and keeps the chicken moist throughout the cooking process. Preventing dryness. Chicken tends to dry out more quickly when exposed to direct heat.

Should you flip chicken in the oven? ›

For this method, we recommend baking your chicken breasts at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Bonus: baking chicken breasts in the oven doesn't require babysitting. No flipping or turning.

Should I cover my roast chicken in foil? ›

4) Time to roast

Weigh your chicken and calculate the cooking time according to the guide below. Sit the bird in a roasting tin slightly larger than the chicken, and don't cover it with foil or you won't achieve a crisp skin. Basting your chicken during cooking will help keep the meat moist.

How does Ina Garten roast chicken? ›

Place the onions, carrots, and fennel in a roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top. Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh.

Is it better to roast chicken at 350 or 400? ›

You can roast or bake anywhere between 325 and 450 degrees F. When roasting a whole chicken, a nice rule of them is to start at 400 to 425 degrees F and then turn the oven down to 350 after 15 minutes and cook until the internal temp of the chicken is 165 – 175 degrees F on an instant read thermometer.

Why do supermarket roast chickens taste so good? ›

Injecting chicken carcasses with phosphate is extremely common as Tom Super, senior vice president of communications for the National Chicken Council explained to Consumer Reports: "Essentially, all rotisserie chickens are enhanced with a solution [injected into the bird] to keep the birds moist and tasty." This means ...

Why put an onion in a chicken? ›

Lemon, herbs, onions, and garlic too are all aromatics that infuse into the chicken as it cooks giving it a lovely flavor.

What does putting a lemon in a chicken do? ›

The benefits of the hot steaming lemon going into the chicken are very obvious as the meat tastes amazing, and the chicken cooks slightly quicker because of it. Rub the chicken inside and out with a generous amount of salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Is Rotisserie Chicken and Roasted Chicken the same? ›

However, despite the fact that both dishes utilize dry heat, their preparation methods are actually a bit different: Roasted chickens are cooked in the oven at high heat, whereas rotisserie chickens are cooked on a rotating spit, allowing all parts of the bird to be heated evenly.

Which is healthier rotisserie chicken or roasted chicken? ›

A rotisserie chicken will have similar nutrients to one you roast,” says Allers. “Similar protein, iron. The main difference is the amount and type of any additives.” Some stores “inject the chickens with a solution, which might contain added salt, sugar, various natural flavorings,” Allers explains.

What is roasted chicken called? ›

Rotisserie chicken is a chicken dish that is cooked on a rotisserie by using direct heat in which the chicken is placed next to the heat source.

What does roasting a chicken mean? ›

Initially, "to roast" meant to cook over an open flame as in a whole chicken on a spit. Today, though, you typically roast that whole chicken in the oven — where you do your baking, too. Both methods use dry heat to cook the insides and crisp up the outsides.

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