Roasting a chicken this way makes for an especially flavorful main dish with the added bonus of making a complete meal if you include the optional vegetables.  It’s one of my family’s favorite dishes anytime, but especially when the leaves turn colors and start to fall.  

Our Holly Hill Garden Herb Salt is a special blend we formulated out of herbs from our summer garden, dried and ground in-house, and salt from the J.Q. Dickinson Salt Works in the Appalachian Mountains.

-Chef Ouita Michel

Ouita’s Roast Chicken

Directions

Bring chicken to room temperature and preheat oven to 400℉.
While the oven is preheating, get the chicken ready.
Working your way around the bird, loosen the skin under its breasts, legs and thighs.
Rub olive oil and Herb Salt under and over the chicken skin, covering as much of the bird as possible.
Stuff the cavity with the quartered onion, lemon or orange (or both), and unpeeled garlic cloves

If using the optional veggies, peel and trim as needed and place under the chicken in a roasting pan to form a sort of rack.  They’ll get nice and brown and flavored with the chicken drippings, and make a great side dish.

Once the bird is oiled, stuffed and herbed, slide it into the oven and roast until the juices run clear, about 45 minutes to an hour, depending on your oven and the size of your chicken.

When it’s ready, don’t forget to let it rest a few minutes before carving and serving.  Enjoy!
A whole chicken should supply four servings plus leftovers.  When you’re done picking the bones clean, throw the carcass into a pot with water and fresh seasonings for easy stock-making

Ingredients

1 whole chicken, 3-4 lbs., preferably from a local farmer
1 whole onion, quartered
1 whole lemon or orange, quartered
As many garlic cloves as you like, no need to peel
Extra-virgin olive oil, 2-4 tablespoons in all
Garden Herb Salt, about 1-2 tablespoons

Optional:
Carrots, potatoes, celery, extra onions