Look at this beautiful platter of roasted chicken! I definitely had big eyes when I was shopping for chicken breasts, they were much bigger than I imagined, so huge and meaty! Enough for dinner with leftovers for sandwiches the next day.
It can be a challenge to cook chicken breast without drying it out. That’s why bone in, skin on chicken breasts are a great choice for roasting. The butter and herb rub gives the chicken a nice, crispy skin and helps retain moisture. Size matters for cook time, so be sure to use a thermometer [1] to check the internal temperature.
I used fresh herbs from my garden to make the herb butter. The minced sage, thyme and rosemary pair so well with poultry. If using dried herbs, reduce the quantity to 1 tbsp.
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The roasting pan you see in the pictures was my mother’s. Never used, still in the package when I inherited it over 35 years ago, it’s still going strong. No doubt it came from one of her beloved catalogs that were popular back in the day. If you are looking for something similar, here’s one that you can order from Amazon [2].
Ingredients:
- 1/2 sweet onion
- 2 celery stalks
- 2 carrots
- 4 whole chicken breasts
- 5 oz. butter, softened
- 3 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 tbsp. fresh herbs, minced (I used sage, rosemary and thyme)
- 2 tsp. Italian seasoning (I like this one) [3]
- 1 lemon, sliced
- 1 cup water
- cooking spray
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350º and mist the roasting pan and rack with cooking spray. Arrange the aromatics (onion, celery and carrots) in the bottom of the pan. Place the rack in the pan.
Combine the softened butter, olive oil, minced herbs and Italian seasoning and mash together with a fork. Rub the mixture over the chicken breasts and top each with a slice of lemon. Place the chicken breasts on the rack.
Add one cup of water to the bottom of the pan and roast uncovered for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 170º (again, use a thermometer [4]).
Transfer to a serving dish and serve.
Notes ♪♫ Don’t discard all those goodies in the bottom of the pan. I like to toss it all into a pot with the chicken bones to make soup stock. Nothing goes to waste, and you get a second meal!