Meyer Lemon Roasted Chicken with Herbs

Have you ever heard of the expression, “Be careful what you wish for?” In these times of instant gratification, I think the new saying should “Be careful what you Tweet about!”

Remember all of the Meyer Lemon gifting from Kim at Rustic Garden Bistro? She was shipping Meyer Lemons all over the place, so of course, there was much twittering and posting on Facebook concerning this situation.

In the midst of all of this excitement, I was also tweeting about Meyer Lemons and suddenly noticed that Dandy Fresh Produce started following me on Twitter.

Lots and lots of gorgeous Meyer Lemons!

To make a long story short, Dandy Fresh Produce (also known as Duda Farm Fresh Foods) said they would send me some Meyer Lemons and of course, I said sure! I’d be more than happy (I would be ecstatic!) to take some of those bad boys off your hands. You know how much we love Meyer Lemons at the Bunkycooks! 🙂

Well, I am thinking something like the size of a box of clementines will be arriving shortly filled with Meyer Lemons, but oh, no…we got the crate of Meyer Lemons AND the clementine size box with even more Meyer Lemons! They must have thought we had a restaurant called Bunkycooks!

Lemons in the kitchen nook!

So, I quickly got to work on those gorgeous lemons…they truly were the biggest, juiciest and most perfect Meyer Lemons we have ever seen!

These Meyer Lemons are almost too pretty to cook with!

I am sure you are now wondering what on Earth I have done with all of these lemons.  Well, let me tell you…I have made three batches of Limoncello with three different recipes and will let you know how they all turn out months from now. I’ve got a little moonshine brewing in my basement. 😉

I also made more Preserved Meyer Lemons and Meyer Lemon Curd (lots of that yummy stuff!). I made Meyer Lemon infused olive oil and have been working on recipes using that ingredient (more to come!).  I have frozen lots of cubes of juice so that I can have Meyer Lemon juice any old time I want it and still have a few left to work with this weekend!

Meyer Lemon Infused Oil

Preserved Lemons, Meyer Lemon Curd, Meyer Lemon Infused Oil...Phewww!

Freeze Meyer Lemon juice to use later.

However, one of my favorite things I have prepared with the Meyer Lemons so far is this roast chicken. We adore roast chicken and eat it so many times a week that we may soon grow feathers! are almost chicken experts. In other words, we know our roast chickens!

This recipe is a total keeper! The smell of Meyer Lemons and herbs filled the house (on a really chilly night!)  If you are not familiar with Meyer Lemons, they are a cross between a regular lemon and a Mandarin Orange, so the combination of those two citrus fruits is really something extraordinary.  This chicken was incredibly moist and had just a delightful and subtle flavor of Meyer Lemons and herbs. It truly was one of the best roast chickens we have had!

Perfectly roasted chicken...there is nothing better!

Be sure to use an organic chicken (like Bell & Evans), if possible. It does make a difference in the preparation and results of the recipe.

Keep posted for more Meyer Lemon dishes to come!

Enjoy!

Meyer Lemon Roasted Chicken with Herbs

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 organic fresh chicken (such as Bell & Evans) 3 1/2 to 4 pounds
Kosher Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 onion, cut into quarters
1 large Meyer Lemon, cut into quarters
1 celery stalk, cut into for pieces
1 1/2 tablespoons Meyer Lemon juice
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon chopped rosemary, plus 2 whole sprigs
1/2 teaspoon chopped thyme, plus 2 whole sprigs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash and pat dry chicken with paper towels. Salt and pepper the inside cavity of the chicken as well as the outside of the bird. Set aside.

Meanwhile, prepare the baking pan. Spray a cooking rack and a shallow baking pan with cooking spay. Set the rack inside of the pan (a V-rack works best).

Place the onion, Meyer Lemon, celery, 2 sprigs of rosemary and 2 sprigs of thyme inside the cavity of the chicken. Truss the bird, if you would like. (I did not truss my bird.) .

Whisk together the Meyer Lemon juice, olive oil, chopped rosemary and chopped thyme. Brush the mixture, with a pastry brush, all over the chicken, beginning with the underneath of the chicken and finish with the breast side up. Place chicken, breast side up, in the prepared V-rack and pan.

Cook in preheated oven for 20 minutes per pound, plus an additional 15 minutes. *Check the temperature of the chicken at this point. The breast should be at 157 degrees before removing from the oven (and 167 degrees in between the leg and the thigh).

Once you have achieved that temperature, remove from the oven and let sit 10-15 minutes to rest. The chicken will continue to cook and the temperature should rise to about 160 degrees (in the breast) and 170 (in the thigh) for a properly cooked chicken.

Slice or section the chicken and serve immediately.

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