Print

Tarragon Lime Rotisserie Chicken

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 (4 lb/2 Kg) whole chicken
  • A handful of fresh cilantro
  • A handful of fresh tarragon
  • 1 lemon – juice & zest
  • 2 limes – juice and zest
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 TBS Dijon mustard with seeds
  • Coarse Salt and Black Pepper
  • Stainless Steel Chicken Roaster

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 F/ 190 C

Place the fresh herbs, lemon and lime juice, and zest, garlic, mustard & olive oil, 1 tspn salt & 1 tspn pepper into a food processor and puree to make a paste.

Remove neck and giblets from chicken and discard. Rinse chicken inside and out, and pat dry with paper towels. Generously season inside and outside of the chicken with salt and pepper.

Loosen the chicken skin and use half the marinade inside the chicken cavity and under the skin. Cover the outside of the chicken with the rest of the marinade and place the chicken on the stand. Marinade overnight if possible or at least 2 hours ahead. Bring chicken to room temperature before cooking.

Place the chicken stand on Teflon lined baking sheet or in a baking dish. Tie the wings close to the body using a piece of string or an elastic band to stop them from burning.

Move the oven rack to the bottom third of the oven to make space for the height of the chicken. Roast the chicken basting with liquid in the drip tray (every 30 minutes) to keep it moist.

Roast chicken until the ENTIRE skin is nicely golden brown and crunchy. You may need to make a little tinfoil hat for the chicken if the top is browning too quickly.

When the legs are a nice golden brown this will indicate that the chicken is done. It can take 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours depending on the size of the chicken and your oven.

Let chicken rest for 5 minutes before cutting. Using a chicken scissor cut the chicken down the front at the back. Portion it into 8 pieces by cutting off the legs, things and halving the breast.

Pour over the pan juices and garnish with some fresh tarragon.

Serve with some roasted potatoes and a green salad.

SERVES 4

Notes

Cooking the chicken low and slow keeps it moist and juicy. A smaller chicken tastes better than a big bird.