Ingredients
Scale
- 5 lb. whole chicken
- 5 tbsp. butter, softened
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 8 slices Hickory Smoked Bacon
- 1 stem thyme
- 1 stem rosemary
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 whole yellow onion, cubed
- 1 tbsp. dried rosemary leaves
- 1 tbsp. dried parsley leaves
- 1 tbsp. salt
- 1 tbsp. black pepper
- butchers twine
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 Degrees
- Remove Chicken from package and remove the internal organs (if any) and discard or reserve for making gravy. Rinse off the chicken and place on cutting board. With clean kitchen towel, pat dry.
- Take a knife and make a slit between the skin of the bird and the meat that is facing toward you. Now, take your index finger and separate the skin from the meat. Do this process on both sides of the bird.
- Take the garlic cloves and stuff in those inserts on both sides of the bird (3 on one side, 3 on the other). Make sure the garlic cloves are distributed in different sections of the bird for an even flavor. Take 6 pieces of the bacon and stuff 3 pieces on both sides. Take a piece of the butcher’s twine and tie up the legs so the onion and herbs don’t fall out of the bird.
- Insert the other two pieces of bacon, the onion, the sprigs of thyme, and rosemary into the main cavity of the bird.
- Rub the butter completely over the bird. Now sprinkle the bird with the salt, pepper, dried rosemary, and dried parsley. Drizzle a medium to large size cast iron skillet with olive oil and place the chicken inside the pan. Place the pan inside the oven.
- Once the chicken has cooked for 45 minutes, baste the chicken every 30 minutes with a large spoon or a turkey baster with the juices and fat that renders from the chicken for the next hour and a half. It should take 2 hours and 15 minutes until the chicken is completely cooked. Once the chicken is cooked, allow to cool for 20 minutes and allow the juices to redistribute back into the chicken and serve.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 2 hours 15 mins
- Category: Dinner
