Juicy roast chicken flavored with orange, sage, garlic and thyme makes this easy Christmas chicken recipe the perfect no-fuss centerpiece.
When you’re all turkey’d out and you have no clue what to make for your Christmas feast, this easy Christmas chicken with its aromatic flavors is the perfect recipe to cook. Another bonus? The buttery, fragrant pan sauce that forms while the chicken is roasting is the perfect replacement for gravy.
Ingredients
- Chicken. Using a free range/organic chicken makes a huge difference.
- Fresh oranges.
- Sage.
- Thyme. Rosemary is also good.
- Garlic bulbs.
- Onion.
- Lemon.
- Softened butter.
- Olive oil.
- White wine. I used Sauvignon Blanc but any white wine will work.
- Salt & pepper.
How to make Christmas chicken
- Make the compound butter: A compound butter is butter infused with aromatics. In this case, we use citrus zest, fresh herbs and garlic. Place softened butter in a bowl then add the zest of an orange and a lemon, crushed garlic, finely chopped fresh sage and thyme leaves. Season with salt and pepper and mix well.
- Season the chicken: Allow the chicken to come to room temperature before cooking. Gently loosen the skin over the breast and drumsticks with your fingers, taking care not to tear the skin. Spoon the butter under the skin and gently spread over the chicken breasts until the butter has been distributed over the chicken. I rub any excess butter over the top of the breasts and drumsticks too, but this is optional. In a roasting dish, add orange halves, quartered onion, halved garlic bulbs, thyme and sage. Place the chicken on top then drizzle with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper on both sides as well as inside the cavity. Pour wine around the chicken then place in the oven.
- Roast the chicken: Allow the chicken to roast for 45-60 minutes, depending on size, until golden brown and cooked through. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes before carving and serving.
How long to roast a chicken
It really depends on the size and the temperature you roast it at. A 1.5kg (3lb) chicken will take approximately 45-60 minutes to roast at 180ºC/350ºF. The time it takes for a chicken to roast also depends on the temperature of the chicken before it went into the oven. A fridge cold chicken will take much longer to cook through. That’s why it’s very important to allow your chicken to come to room temperature before roasting. A chicken is cooked when it reaches 72ºC/165ºF on a meat thermometer. I usually take my chicken out of the oven at approximately 65ºC/150ºF because during resting (I usually leave my chicken to rest for at least 20 minutes, covered) it will come up to temperature. If you don’t have a thermometer, check if the chicken is done by slicing between the breast and drumstick. If the juices run clear, the chicken is cooked.
Can I make this ahead?
The chicken can be seasoned and place in the roasting dish then covered with foil and refrigerated for up to a day in advance. Remove from the fridge 45 minutes before cooking. The cooked chicken can be covered tightly with foil then covered with two tea towels and kept warm for at least an hour. This frees up oven space if you need to cook any other dishes for your meal. Leftover chicken can be kept in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
What to serve with Christmas chicken
Roast chicken recipes
Orange sage Christmas chicken
Ingredients
- 1.5 kg / 3lb whole chicken
- ½ cup softened butter
- zest of 1 orange
- zest of 1 lemon
- 2 garlic cloves finely minced/crushed
- 1 tbsp sage finely chopped
- 2 tsp thyme leaves
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 oranges halved
- 1 onion quartered
- 2 garlic bulbs halved
- 10 sprigs fresh thyme
- 6 sage leaves
- 1 cup white wine
Instructions
- Place softened butter in a bowl then add the zest of an orange and a lemon, crushed garlic, finely chopped fresh sage and thyme leaves. Season with salt and pepper and mix well.
- Allow the chicken to come to room temperature before cooking.
- Gently loosen the skin over the breast and drumsticks with your fingers, taking care not to tear the skin.
- Spoon the butter under the skin and gently spread over the meat until the butter has been distributed over the chicken.
- In a roasting dish, add orange halves, quartered onion, halved garlic bulbs, thyme and sage.
- Place the chicken on top then drizzle with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Pour wine around the chicken then place in the oven.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
- Allow the chicken to roast for 45-60 minutes, depending on size, until golden brown and cooked through.
- Remove from the oven and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes before carving and serving.
Absolutely amazing! Made it for our Christmas eve tonight. Was such a winner!
hI Alida, thank you for this recipe. I have been looking for something new to make and this fits the bill perfectly. You have used some of my very favorite ingredients. So i will let you know how it comes out as soon as i make this for our next dinner get together
I made this recipe a few weeks ago and it was a huge hit!! I am considering using this recipe for my Christmas turkey. My mother-in-law can’t eat butter… I know very sad!! Could I use olive oil between the bird and the skin with the herbs and zest preparation? Wondering if anyone had trued that?
Yes, you can use olive oil.
Loved this recipe and have made a note of it to use it again in the future. It will definitely become a favorite. However as it was quite last minute I had to make swap some ingredients as I didnt have them all. I used satsumas as had no oranges and topped up the satsuma zest with some grapefruit zest as it was quite hard to grate a satsuma. I also had to use dried thyme as my plant has died on me and I had to replace the white wine with apple cider vinegar, It still came out delicious and everyone loved it!
Love your substitutions. That’s what my recipes are all about, taking inspiration and using what you have. So glad you liked this recipe.
Splendid