An Amish woman in Mississippi (of which there aren't that many, maybe only about 20 families live there) sent me with this lofty title "easiest roast chicken ever." Hmmmm, that is a pretty high aspiration. I guess some of you are just going to have to try it and let me know if it passes the test. From what my parents said, this chicken hits that mark. As far as roast chicken recipes go, this is a pretty easy roast chicken recipe!
There is an Amish community near the town of Pontotoc, Mississippi in the far northeastern part of the state. This is a very conservative settlement of Swartzentruber Amish (the Swartzentruber Amish are among the most conservative, they reject plumbing, electricity in all forms and are generally more closed off) . In general, The Amish population has been slow to catch on the in Deep South. I think a big part of that is just the climate. If you are not going to have electricity, you are going to be more comfortable during a Michigan summer than a Mississippi summer. In winter, there are always ways to heat your home, but the options for cooling are much more limited.
How To Make The Easiest Roast Chicken Ever
Anyway, back to the Easiest Roast Chicken Ever. This chicken recipe is popular in some of the southern Swartzentruber communities. She clipped the recipe, it looks like, out of one of her church community cookbooks. That cookbook is likely full of southern-influenced Amish cooking. Would love to get my hands on that!
My parents took a crack at this recipe yesterday and really enjoyed it. Sounds like there was just a hint of lemon, not overpowering at all. And the chicken came out very juicy.
The lemon, both the zest and the fruit, add great flavor without being overpowering.
If you don't have rosemary, thyme serves as a flavorful substitute. And this is the part of the recipe where you can add more. Granted, the more you add, the more the "easiest" part isn't true, but still, feel free to add some chopped onions, diced carrots, garlic, and whatever other herbs strike your fancy. But if you also can keep the recipe just as is and you'll probably think it is the best roast chicken recipe!
Cooking the chicken with the lemon inside adds great flavor. You can use a roasting pan, or many Amish cooks would just cook it in a cast-iron skillet or cast iron cookware. Just make sure the internal temperature of the meat hits 165 degrees. I love an instant read thermometer. Check the temperature in the thickest part of the chicken. Of course a regular meat thermometer works fine. Either way, this is a nice protein-packed dish!
There are a lot of side dishes that go well with this chicken, like most vegetables, including corn, peas, potatoes, carrots, or anything else you like. This roast chicken pairs well with most items! You can use the drippings to make a good gravy! And don't ignore the giblets!
Thje flavorful crispy, but not too crispyu skin almost falls off, revealing a juicy, flavorful meat. I personally like super crispy skin on my chicken, but this crispness is just right too. It will be so tender that it almost falls off the bone. Just slice up the chicken the way you like it, all the pieces will be flavorful: thighs, wings, and breasts. Any left overs can be sealed up and stored in the refrigerator or freezer. And this chicken isn't loaded with calories, very basic!
🍗Roast Chicken Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken (approximately 4 pounds)
- ½ cup butter, softened
- Zest from 1 lemon
- 4 sprigs of rosemary, leaves removed and minced
- ½ cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 whole lemons
- 1 tablespoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
📋 Roast Chicken Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400*F. Position an oven rack in the upper third of the oven.
- Remove the innards from the chicken and pat the chicken dry with a cloth..
- Place breast side down in a medium roasting pan.
- Pour the lemon juice all over the chicken, both inside and out.
- In a small bowl, combine butter, lemon zest and chopped rosemary.
- Spread mixture all over the chicken, including the cavity.
- Season all over with salt and pepper, including the cavity.
- Prick 2 whole lemons three times each in three different places with a fork and place them deep in the chicken..
- Put the chicken in the oven, lower the oven temperature to 350*F, and roast, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
- Put the chicken in the oven, lower the oven temperature to 350*F, and roast, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
- Remove the roasting pan from the oven.
- Tun the chicken breast side up.
- Return the chicken to the oven for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let the chicken sit
- for 10 minutes before carving.
- Pour the juices from the roasting pan on top of the sliced chicken.
🐔More Amish Chicken Recipes
Chicken is plentiful on most Amish farms, a very versatile and inexpensive meat, so most Amish cooks have plenty of chicken creations! Here are a few popular ones!
Mennonite Farmhouse Chicken
A farmhouse classic, juicy and flavorful!
For rushed cooks!
So delicious!
🖨️Printer-Friendly Easiest Roast Chicken Ever
Amish Easiest Roast Chicken Ever
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter softened
- zest from one lemon
- 4 sprigs rosemary leaves removed and minced
- ½ cup lemon juice
- 2 whole lemons
- 1 tablespoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400*F.
- Position an oven rack in the upper third of the oven.
- Remove the innards from the chicken and pat the chicken dry with a cloth. Place breast side down in a medium roasting pan.
- Pour the lemon juice all over the chicken, both inside and out
- .In a small bowl, combine butter, lemon zest and chopped rosemary.
- Spread mixture all over the chicken, including the cavity
- .Season all over with salt and pepper, including the cavity.
- Prick 2 whole lemons three times each in three different places with a fork and place them deep in the chicken .
- Put the chicken in the oven, lower the oven temperature to 350*F, and roast, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
- Remove the roasting pan from the oven.
- Turn the chicken breast side up. Return the chicken to the oven for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let the chicken sit for 10 minutes before carving.cPour the juices from the roasting pan on top of the sliced chicken.
iris carter
Pumpkin Crunch recipe doesn't have can sizes for solid pack pumpkin or evaporated milk. Please send sizes to me for this recipe.
Iris Carter
bernadette laganella
As Julia Child said You can tell a great cook by eating her roast chicken.
Kevin Williams
Ha, I forgot about that one!
Trudi Hook
I copied the recipe for Amish Peppermint Brownies. There has to be some ingredients missing as it turned out awful! First of all it didn't list eggs & then they're listed in instructions. How many eggs? Please check out this recipes that was posted here.
Kevin Williams
Hi, Trudi, I am really sorry about that!:( The print-friendly version of the recipe left out the eggs inadvertently...i corrected it, it should have 4 eggs. That will make all the difference, it is a good brownie usually!
Carolyn
Easiest Roast Chicken Ever--Only roast the whole chicken in a 400 degree oven turned down to 350, for 15 minutes? If that's the correct roasting time I won't be making this. I've never heard of a whole chicken being done in 15 minutes, even at the highest temps.
Kevin Williams
Thanks, Carolyn, for catching that, the cooking instructions were partially lopped off, I re-added them, so all is good with the recipe now....no 15-minute chicken anymore!:)
Delores Scarcella
Your chicken recipe sounds delicious to me of course. But I have a problem my husband does not like lemon I wonder if I could use lime and or orange some sort of citrus other than lemon? Thank you for prompt answer you have my address above
Kevin Williams
Hi, Delores, the lemon flavor in this is not overpowering, so that would bode well for other fruits too...lime would be a great alternative, orange I'd think would work well too. No harm in trying, I'd absolutely think you could swap out another kind of citrus, let me know how it turns out!