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Christmas Roast Chicken

Sweet and tangy whole roast chicken with pomegranate, orange, and fresh herbs. Super moist, flavorful, and crisp skin! Served with a simple maple brussels sprouts and sweet potato side dish.
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Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Resting Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours 5 minutes

EQUIPMENT

  • Roasting pan with rack
  • Roasting pan for vegetables
  • Medium mixing bowl
  • Meat thermometer

INGREDIENTS

Pomegranate Orange Maple Butter Rub

  • ½ cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
  • ¼ cup maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons pomegranate juice
  • 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
  • 1 tablespoon orange zest
  • 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
  • 2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
  • 2 teaspoons minced fresh sage

Chicken

  • 6.5 lb whole chicken giblets removed
  • half an orange quartered
  • 1 bulb of garlic
  • sprigs of herbs
  • salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

  • In a medium mixing bowl, combine the ingredients for the butter rub and set aside. The butter should be soft but not melted. It’s ok if some of the juice does not fully incorporate with the butter, we will baste with it.
  • Preheat oven to 425℉. Place the chicken with the breast side up on the wire rack of a roasting pan and pat it dry with paper towels. Gently loosen the skin and rub some of the butter mixture underneath. Take some butter and rub it all around the chicken and inside the cavity. Save some of the butter rub for basting.
  • Stuff the cavity with half an orange, a bulb of garlic with the top chopped off so the garlic is exposed, and a few sprigs of each of the herbs. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine and tuck the wings under the bird. Season all over with salt and pepper to taste. Bake for 30 minutes.
  • Once the chicken has roasted for 30 minutes at 425℉, remove from the oven and baste it. Reduce the oven to 350℉ and return to the oven to bake for about another hour and a half to two hours, basting every 30-45 minutes. A 6.5 lb whole chicken should cook for about 2 hours and 30 minutes total. If the chicken is browning too much, loosely tent it with aluminum foil. The chicken is done cooking when the thickest part of the breast meat measures 165℉ and when piercing into the thigh, the juices run clear.
  • When the chicken has finished baking, allow to rest out of the oven and loosely tented with foil for 30 minutes before slicing. This allows for maximum flavor and the juices to seep back into the meat.

NOTES

If you don’t have maple syrup, you can easily swap with honey and it will be just as delicious. If you like a sweeter and stickier chicken skin, add about ¼ cup more to the butter mixture.
If you do not have fresh herbs, you can substitute dry herbs. Just use half of the amount.
I like to sprinkle on a little more seasoning and chopped herbs after my last baste and return to the oven. Sometimes basting it with a brush will move things around too much or to one area. This guarantees each bite will be perfectly seasoned. Plus it just comes out of the oven so beautiful and evenly covered.
If your oven is big enough, you can roast your vegetables along with the chicken. Just place it on the bottom rack during the last 30 minutes of baking. I like to roast it separately while the chicken is resting so everything can be ready at the same time and still be hot.
If you are short on time, you can cut the resting time in half. I highly recommend trying to rest for the full 30 minutes if you can. This will give you super moist, tender, juicy, and flavorful meat.
STORAGE
Store leftover chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.