This Slow Roasted Chicken Recipe makes it easy to cook up a perfect roast chicken every time, with juicy flavorful meat that practically falls off the bone, golden brown skin, and luscious pan juices (to spoon over mashed potatoes!)
With garlic and spices slathered all over the chicken, and the gentle heat of a 300ºF oven for three hours, this chicken gets meltingly tender, soaking up all the incredible flavors of the garlic and spice mixture into every delicious bite!
The Best Way to Roast A Chicken
Every home cook needs a great roast chicken recipe in their repertoire. Roasting a whole chicken is not hard to do, yet if you get it wrong, you can end up with rubbery drumsticks, dried out breast meat and soggy skin - a very sad situation.
There are so many ways to roast a chicken it's almost dizzying. Some recipes focus on super crisp skin, others have a special two-sided cooking technique designed to keep the breasts moist, some include vegetables for a full roasted dinner in one pot.
Out of all the roasted chicken recipes that I've seen and tried, this slow roasted chicken is one of the easiest methods I know, and it's fail proof. You get a perfect roast chicken every time!
Here’s what I love about this slow roasted chicken recipe:
- The prep time is only 15-20 minutes
- The lemon, garlic, fennel and thyme create amazing flavor
- Though the cook time is long - 3 hours - there's no basting or fuss. You just set it and forget it.
- As the chicken roasts, the house fills up with a heavenly aroma
- Because the oven heat is so low - 300ºF/150ºC - there's no risk that the chicken will dry out or that the garlic and herbs on top will burn. With this method, even the white meat is juicy and tender.
How To Slow Roast A Whole Chicken In The Oven
Here's how to do it: coat the chicken with the garlic and spice mixture, inside and out; stuff the cavity with more garlic, a sliced lemon, and fresh thyme; tie up the legs; and roast the chicken in a 300ºF/150ºC oven for three hours.
- Start by Preheating the oven to 300ºF. While it's heating, make the garlic and spice mixture: Whisk the olive oil, garlic, fennel, salt, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Spoon it over, under and inside the chicken, and use your hands to spread it evenly over every surface of the chicken, making sure there's plenty on top of the breasts, which will soak up all those delicious flavors. This is the perfect combination of flavors for an incredibly delicious roasted chicken.
- Stuff the cavity of the chicken with lightly crushed garlic cloves, the sliced lemon, and the fresh thyme.
- Truss the chicken: Tie the chicken's legs together with kitchen twine. This will help the chicken cook evenly (more about trussing below).
- Roast the chicken in the oven for three hours. No need to baste it or to even check on it. Just set the timer and when you come back, you'll have a perfect roast chicken!
- Wait 15 minutes before carving. When you take the chicken out of the oven, it needs a little time to cool down a bit and redistribute its juices.
How to Slice and Serve A Whole Slow Roasted Chicken
This slow roasted chicken cooks up so tender and easy to slice, I often cut it up right in the roasting pan. Transferring it to a cutting board works well too! Here's my favorite way to slice and serve a roast chicken.
- First cut the chicken into eight pieces: two breasts, two thighs, two drumsticks, and two wings. Then cut each breast crosswise into five or six slices. That way everyone can have a thigh or a leg plus a couple of pieces of white meat.
- Arrange the chicken pieces on a platter or, even easier, in the same pan you used to roast it. Nestle the pieces into the pan juices, put the lemon slices around (they're delicious by the way), and sprinkle some thyme leaves around, or chopped parsley, for color.
- For the perfect roast chicken dinner, serve this chicken with mashed potatoes and a leafy salad with bright citrusy dressing.
Three Tips for making the best whole roasted chicken:
- Let the chicken come to room temperature before roasting it. If you put a cold chicken in the oven, it will lower the oven temperature; the chicken won't cook as evenly; and your recipe timing will be off. A half an hour out of the fridge is plenty of time for the chicken to come to room temperature.
- Pat the skin dry with paper towels. The drier the better if you want the chicken skin to brown. A wet chicken will create a steamy oven which can result in soggy skin. Some chefs recommend salting the chicken and putting it in the fridge overnight, uncovered to dry it out completely before roasting it. Some even recommend using a hair dryer! Or you can buy an air chilled chicken, which is low-moisture. Personally, I'm very happy with the paper towel method.
- Truss the Chicken (tie the legs together). The key here is to tie the ends of the legs together, which helps the chicken cook evenly. When the legs are tight against the breasts, both are less likely to dry out. Also, trussing the chicken closes up the cavity and prevents hot air from circulating in there and drying out the breasts.
Here's the Slow Roasted Chicken Recipe. If you try this, I hope you'll come back to leave a star rating and a comment. I'd love to know what you think!
PrintRecipe
Slow Roasted Chicken: A Perfect Roast Chicken Every Time
- Total Time: 3 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
This low and slow cooking technique is an easy, no fail recipe for making a perfect whole roast chicken in the oven, with meltingly tender flavorful meat, golden brown skin, and luscious pan juices.
Ingredients
- 3 ½-4 pound chicken
- 8 medium garlic cloves, divided
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons of ground fennel seed (even better if you freshly crush 2 teaspoons of fennel seeds with mortar and pestle)
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper flakes)
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 lemon, thinly sliced
- 1 whole bunch of fresh thyme
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300ºF (not convection) and arrange a rack in the center position. Remove the chicken from the fridge so it has time to come to room temperature before you roast it (see notes below).
- Squeeze 3 of the garlic cloves through a garlic press or finely mince them, and put them into a small mixing bowl. Add the olive oil, salt, fennel, red pepper flakes, and black pepper. Mix thoroughly and set aside.
- Remove the giblet pouch from the cavity of the chicken (if there is one); rinse the chicken inside and out with cold water and pat it very dry with paper towels, inside and out. Place the chicken, breast side up, in a roasting pan.
- Coat the chicken with the garlic and spice mixture, spooning it on, under and inside the chicken, and using your hands to spread it around evenly, making sure there's plenty on top of the breasts.
- Lightly crush the remaining 5 garlic cloves (see notes below) and stuff them into the cavity of the chicken. Set aside a few sprigs of fresh thyme to use as a garnish and stuff the rest into the chicken, along with the sliced lemon. Tie the chicken's legs together with twine (see notes below) and roast it in the oven uncovered for 3 hours, undisturbed.
- Remove the pan from the oven and let the chicken rest in its juices for fifteen minutes before carving. Cut it into eight serving pieces and then cut each breast crosswise, into 5 or 6 thin slices, if you like. Transfer the chicken to a serving platter or, even easier, serve it right in the roasting pan. Nestle the chicken pieces into the pan juices, scatter the cooked lemons around, and garnish with reserved thyme sprigs.
Notes
Three Tips for making the best roast chicken:
- Bring the chicken to room temperature before roasting it. If you put an ice cold chicken in the oven, it will lower the oven temperature; the chicken won't cook evenly; and your timing will be off. Make sure the chicken is out of the fridge for a half hour to 45 minutes, before roasting it.
- Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. The drier the better if you want the skin to brown.
- Truss the Chicken (tie the legs together). When the legs are tied together, they're held tight against the breasts and both the legs and breasts are less likely to dry out. Also, trussing closes up the cavity of the chicken, which prevents hot air from circulating in there and drying out the breasts.
How to lightly crush and peel garlic: Place an unpeeled garlic clove under the flat side of a large kitchen knife and pound the top side of the knife with the heel of your hand (VERY CAREFULLY, AVOIDING THE BLADE), to lightly crush the garlic. The skin will come off easily.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Roast
- Cuisine: American
Dawn
This recipe is fantastic! Our chicken was so delicious. Thank you so much for your recipe. I loved the combination of spices - chili, fennel and thyme and of course the garlic and lemons take it over the top flavour-wise! I must admit I cut the chili amount in half and it was perfect for my sensitive-to-heat taste buds but gave it a nice little kick. 🙂
Also, our organic meat birds come from a farm and were young but big….7-8lbs. I learned that when cooking a whole chicken at a 300 degree temperature, you need to calculate 25-30 minutes per pound if your bird is not the average size of 3.5/4lbs that recipe suggests.
Thank you so much again and look forward to trying your other recipes.
Lisa Goldfinger
You are very welcome! I'm so glad to hear this recipe worked out so well for you Dawn. I hope you find some other recipes here that become family favorites and I hope you'll keep me posted!
donna yerganian
i'm not a fan of fennel. what other spice would you suggest to substitute. Thanks.
Lisa Goldfinger
I think rosemary will work beautifully in place of the fennel.
Bob
Chiming in from Ottawa, Canada! Made this tonight - absolutely stellar from us and the family we made it for to take home and enjoy!!!
Louisa Williams
This recipe has become a firm favourite and whenever I cook it, someone wants the recipe. It’s so good.
Stephen
Sometimes these recipes sound so good with the articles. I should have known when it called for a tablespoon of salt, there was an issue. 3 hours is too long at 300° and should be checked at 2 and 1/2 hours. Very disappointed incredibly disappointed with the overall taste and incredible saltiness!
Lisa Goldfinger
Hey Stephen, I appreciate your feedback. I'm sorry this recipe didn't work out well for you.
Karah
That was too salty for you? Bless your heart. Lol
Renee
My thoughts exactly 🤣
Karah
That was too salty for you? Bless your heart.
Kevin
I've not tried the recipe but I will.
It does say kosher salt, which is about half the saltiness of 'normal' salt.
That might explain things. I'd give it another try if I were you.
Deborah
Then omit the salt!
Don’t throw away the baby with the bath water
It’s an excellent easy way to make a delicious chicken
Cris
Follwed directions as written. Used a 4.25 lb chicken. I will do this forever!!!
Peggy Lawrence
My new favorite recipe! Thanks so much!
Lisa Goldfinger
You're so welcome Peggy. I'm really glad you like the roasted chicken so much!
Emma Westcott
Yummy! This is the only way I'm going to roast chicken now, I trussed it as suggested and the breast stayed moist. Thank you for the recipe.
Sheila Lile
This delicious chicken is a family favourite! I have cooked it countless times for my family when I visit them in California and Nashville. I live in Cornwall, England and it is great hit when friends come for dinner. So easy and perfect every time! Thank you SO much
Lynn
The only way I roast chicken now!
Leslie
If the chicken is 7 pounds, what should the cook time be?
Lisa Goldfinger
Hi Leslie - I suggest you start checking for doneness after 5 hours. That might do it or you may have to keep cooking it for another 30-60 minutes. Look for an internal temp of 165ºF when you insert an instant read thermometer into the thickest part of the breast.
Jonathan Turner
Hi Lisa,
We have a 7.5lb (3.5kg) chicken to slow roast.
At what temperature and for how long do you recommend?
I’m guessing 5-6 hours?
At 160C? Or is that too hot?
Help!!
Thanks,
Jon
Lisa Goldfinger
Hi Jon - I believe the conversion from 300F to Centigrade would be 150C, so I suggest you use that for your oven temp. Start checking the chicken for doneness after 5 hours. That might do it or you may have to keep cooking it for another 30-60 minutes. Look for an internal temp of 165ºF when you insert an instant read thermometer into the thickest part of the breast. I hope you enjoy the meal - keep me posted! Happy Holidays!
Louisa Williams
Delicious recipe. Beautiful flavours and textures. With the lemon slices and golden skin, it looks great served from the roasting tin.
Marco J
Fantastic! Thank you!
Not sure I'll ever cook chicken any other way.
Lisa Goldfinger
So glad you liked it!
Phil
Delicious!! Everything....
Cathy
I've made this chicken before and it was uh-mazing! I'm wondering if it's possible to use the same method with a cut-up chicken? I have about 4lbs. of skin-on breasts and thighs - do I need to do anything differently?