Whole Lemon Chicken with Herbs and New Zealand Pinot Noir
Here’s a dinner solution that will have you looking like a trained chef without spending all day in the kitchen. I promise you’ll agree it’s worth the effort when you experience the crispy skin, juicy flesh, melt in your mouth potatoes, and buttery lemon with fresh rosemary flavors. Combine it with a stellar red wine, and it’s game over. It’s a one-dish preparation that might just become a new staple in your house.
The Wine
I paired this recipe with an incredible Pinot Noir from Burn Cottage Vineyard. The 24-hectare estate is located about a 30-minute drive outside of Queenstown in the Central Otago region of New Zealand’s South Island. The vineyards and winery are certified biodynamic and the cool climate makes a wonderful home for this grape variety.
The vineyard team (and Mother Nature!) creates meticulously hand-crafted, minimal intervention wines. While the production focuses on Pinot Noir, they also make a delicious, food-friendly Riesling Gruner Veltliner blend that I was lucky enough to taste when I visited the winery back in 2019.
Wines made with such dedication to the earth ought to be paired with fresh, organic food! I used simple, locally sourced ingredients mostly from farms around my home in Denver, Colorado (couldn't get a couple of items but I tried!). The aromas of roasting poultry, herbs, and citrus that fill the kitchen as the bird cooks are truly out of this world.
Why The Pairing Works...
Poultry and Pinot pair well together in general. That said, I didn’t exactly play it safe with this combination. The lemon flavors of the chicken are prominent, as are the acids which help keep the meat moist and tender. A wimpy Pinot would be easily overwhelmed on this table, but wimpy Burn Cottage is not. The addition of butter rounds out the flavor combination while fresh rosemary highlights the earthy flavors in the wine and brings harmony to each bite.
Cookware, Tools, and Equipment
I used my 3 ½ quart casserole dish from Le Creuset for this recipe but you can absolutely use a Dutch Oven instead. Using a dish like this helps the chicken stay moist but still allows the skin to get brown and crispy on top.
I highly recommend you decant the wine to get the most out of the complex, layered flavors. Here’s a link to my all-time favorite decanter!
You’ll also want a meat thermometer. I can’t stress enough how much the results of my efforts in the kitchen changed for the better when I finally learned to start cooking based on the temperature of the meat as opposed to time and oven temperature alone.
If you hate chopping garlic as much as I do, I suggest using one of my most beloved kitchen appliances: a mini Cuisinart food processor. While I’m at it, I always chop extra garlic and store it in a container in the fridge or in the freezer for up to six months.
For the lemons, you’ll need a microplane and a citrus press.
Finally, grab some kitchen twine and you’re good to go. One spool ought to last you a pretty long time!
Whole Lemon Chicken with Rosemary Butter and Tri-Colored Potatoes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 mins per pound - (4 lb chicken = 1 hour 20 minutes)
Rest Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: Approximately 1 hour 45 minutes
Serves: 4 people
Ingredients
Whole Chicken - approximately 4 pounds
2 fresh lemons – first, zest both into a small bowl using your microplane then press the juice into another bowl, reserve the rinds.
5 cloves garlic (3 minced, 2 cut in half)
4 sprigs fresh rosemary (3 removed from stalk and chopped, 1 left whole)
4 tablespoons butter
Kosher salt and pepper
1-1.5 pounds tri-colored potatoes
1-2 medium yellow onions
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 475°F
Slice the onions and arrange them in the bottom of your dish.
Clean and cut the potatoes, toss them with a light drizzle of olive oil, and layer them on top of the onions.
Melt the butter in a microwave-safe bowl and add the minced garlic, chopped rosemary, zest from the lemons, lemon juice, and salt and pepper.
Note: I know you’re excited but please read this whole section and get fully set up before you start. Things come together quickly! If you’re cooking solo, there’s nothing worse than having to stop and wash your hands again and again to check your recipe or portion another ingredient.
Prep the chicken by removing the giblets from inside the cavity. Make sure you get everything out.
Season the inside of the chicken more than you think you need to. Pour a liberal amount of salt and pepper into your hand and don’t be shy about spreading it around as much as you can inside the cavity.
Next, add the lemon rinds, a few sprigs of rosemary, and a couple of cloves of garlic. You don’t need it to be stuffed full but add anything you have laying around from prepping the other ingredients so nothing goes to waste.
With the chicken stuffed, apply the cooled butter mixture over the entire outside of the bird. Be careful not to tear the skin as you do those as it helps keep the meat tender, juicy, and flavorful inside.
Tie the chicken legs together using kitchen twine. This helps keep everything tight to the body so the meat cooks evenly.
Roast the chicken breast side up uncovered at 475°F for 15-17 minutes to crisp the skin.
Decant the wine!
Turn the oven temperature down to 350°F and cook for 18-20 minutes per pound until the thermometer reads a steady 165°F when you insert it into the thickest part of the breast. Be mindful to avoid touching bones with the thermometer to get an accurate reading. Note: if the skin is getting too brown at any point you can cover the dish or place foil over the bird.
Let the chicken sit for 10-15 minutes before attempting to cut it. If you slice into it too soon all the juices will run out. Allow this time for them to absorb into the meat.
Pro-Tip
When the chicken comes out, turn the oven off but place the plates you’ll be serving the dish on into the hot oven (make sure they are oven safe first!). There’s nothing like a hot dish served on a hot plate! It’ll keep the food warm throughout the meal. Just be super careful when handling them!
There you have it! Once you've made this awesome meal a time or two you'll have it locked in. Let me know how it turns out in the comments below!
Cheers, Montana Rae
