I am on the road this week on a media tour, but I wanted to share a few more yummy recipes for Rosh Hashanah before the holiday. Today’s recipe is my Honey Herb Roasted Chicken. This super juicy, flavorful chicken is drizzled with honey white wine sauce for extra flavor and aroma. It’s a great option for those who want a lighter entree, or a change from brisket, or simply another menu choice for the holiday meal!
Roast chicken is so comforting, and a whole roast chicken can be an impressive addition to the holiday table. When thinking about my Rosh Hashanah menu this year, I wanted to create a simple roast chicken with the essence of herbs and honey– not overly sweet, but full of flavor. I made it four times before I felt like it was perfect (which means my family ate a lot of chicken earlier this month)! Finally I hit upon the perfect balance of flavors. This recipe is the result. It received thumbs up all around from my family… and they’re my toughest critics!
Make sure you don’t skip making the sauce from the pan drippings (at the end of the recipe)– the honey white wine sauce really makes this dish sing. The wine flavor is subtle, and plays deliciously with the herbed pan drippings and sweet honey. I’ll definitely be making this for Rosh Hashanah this year. It’s also gluten free (if you use a GF wine/broth) kosher for Passover (with a KFP wine/broth), and would make a lovely Shabbat entree as well. Enjoy! 🙂
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Honey Herb Roasted Chicken
Ingredients
- 3 1/2-4 pounds whole chicken without giblets
- 1 small handful of fresh rosemary sprigs
- 1 small handful of fresh thyme sprigs
- Peel from one small lemon, sliced
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 large onions, peeled and sliced
- Salt and pepper
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons honey, divided
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- Fresh rosemary and thyme sprigs for garnish (optional)
NOTES
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk together ¼ cup of olive oil, 1 tbsp of honey, and 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice. This is your basting mixture.
- Assemble your chicken, herbs, lemon peel, garlic, and a few small slices of onion.
- Season the cavity of the chicken with salt and pepper and brush some of the basting mixture inside the chicken (go light on the salt if you're using a kosher chicken, which will already be salted). Stuff the cavity with half of the fresh rosemary and thyme sprigs, sliced lemon peel, garlic cloves, and a few pieces of the sliced onion. Don’t overstuff the cavity; pack it loosely with room to breathe.
- Truss the chicken; click here for instructions. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
- Line the bottom of your roasting pan with foil. Take remaining sliced onions and place them in an even layer on the bottom of your roasting pan. Drizzle 2 tbsp of olive oil over the onions. Remove leaves from the rest of the rosemary and thyme sprigs, then put the leaves into the roasting pan and discard stems. Use a large spoon to toss and coat the onion slices with herbs and olive oil.
- Place the chicken breast side down onto the bed of onions. Pour half of the basting mixture over the chicken, using a brush to coat it evenly.
- Cover the roasting pan with foil (nonstick foil is best). Pierce a few small vents into the outer edges of the foil with a knife. Place covered roasting pan into the preheated oven and cook for 45 minutes.
- Take roasting pan out of the oven, remove the foil (reserve), and flip the chicken to breast side up. Brush off any onions or herbs that cling to the top of the chicken. Brush the rest of the basting mixture evenly onto the top of the chicken. Cover the roasting pan again with the vented foil. Place back into the oven for 45 minutes longer.Remove foil from the top of the roasting pan and reduce oven heat to 375 degrees. Let the chicken continue to roast another 20-30 minutes until the skin is brown and crisp. The skin may get quite dark in places; this is from the honey in the basting liquid. Watch the chicken carefully, as it can go from brown to black very quickly. Blackened parts of the skin will not affect the flavor in a negative way.
- Chicken is done when the skin is nicely browned, and the internal temperature reaches at least 170 degrees F as measured on a food thermometer at the thickest part of the thigh.Take the chicken out of the roasting pan and place it on a carving board. Cover it with foil to keep the heat in and let it rest for 15 minutes before carving.
- Meanwhile, use a mesh strainer to strain the pan drippings from the roasting pan into a small saucepan.
- Let the drippings settle for a moment; you will see brown bits settle to the bottom of the pan and lighter fat and oil rise to the top.
- Skim about half of the fat/oil from the top of the liquid. Add ½ cup of white wine, ¼ cup of chicken broth, and 2 tbsp of honey to the pan. Whisk to blend. Heat the sauce over medium to a light boil and let it simmer for about 2 minutes, whisking constantly.Remove the honey sauce from heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Carve the chicken. Drizzled each serving of meat with some of the honey sauce. Garnish with fresh thyme or rosemary, if desired, for a pretty and aromatic presentation.
Nutrition
tried this recipe?
Let us know in the comments!
yvonne says
I don’t have any wine in the house. What could I substitute for it? (for the honey sauce)
Tori Avey says
Hi Yvonne, you could substitute sherry– or, if you’re avoiding alcohol, use an equivalent amount of chicken broth.
Sabine Hirsch says
Hi Tori,
Living in Switzerland I wonder what 400F would be in Celsius? Is it possible to put the bird in a claypot with claylid instead of covering with foil?
Good job from Hagai Strohweiss to remind me on checking on your website since we talked a lot about it on our Pessach dinner last year at the DAN – you remember? Quite enjoyable!
SBell says
Do you think the chicken would turn out even more moist if marinated overnight in the basting liquid? My experience with chicken has shown me that marinating ALWAYS helps!
Valerie says
My husband made this tonight for our seder, and it was delicious! Thanks for the yummy recipe.
Carol says
Just when I think there is nothing new I can learn about baking chicken you post your recipe. This is really great. I will definitely try it. Love the bed of onions!
I’m part of your non Jewish blog followers but glad you don’t mind my appreciation for your amazing cooking. Another winner….
Pearl Rosenberg says
Hi Tori, I’m from Canada. A friend introduced me to your blog.
I just love it, especially your stories and diagrams. Been cooking for over 50 years but am always looking for more interesting recipes. How about some recipes using red wine? Don’t drink much and want to use up some from Rosh Hashanah. Best wishes, Pearl. Keep up the good work
Brittany says
This sounds great! Does roasting the chicken on top of onions keep the bottom half of skin from getting soggy?
Tori Avey says
Hi Brittany– it helps, but doesn’t eliminate that issue completely. The best way to avoid that problem is to roast the chicken on a rack in the pan, so there is no direct contact with the pan and the chicken.
Kim says
I made this for Rosh Hashanah, using bone-in chicken breasts. Soooo good! And it does work well with “parts”, just have to adjust the cooking time.
Faythe says
What a beautiful chicken! Roasted chicken is one of our favorites. Oooh, and honey. I just bought some raw honey at the store so I will be making this soon. 🙂
Stella says
That final picture of the sliced chicken looks PERFECT. Beautiful, wonderful! I will be making this.
Molly says
Great recipe! Hubby and I loved it, and the kids were able to peel off the skin (LOL.) One thing I would change: skim all the fat from the pan juices. Pre-mix the honey, wine, etc, and add a teaspoon or so of cornstarch, arrowroot, or whatever, to thicken; dissolve completely. Then add to the pan juices, bring to a quick boil, and serve. This just thickens it up enough. Otherwise, the sauce tended to just run off the chicken. VERY tasty, though!
Tori Avey says
Nice ideas Molly! I prefer the sauce thinner, but for a more gravy-like consistency this is a great way to go. Glad you enjoyed the chicken!
kita says
It is indeed time to roast a delicious chicken! This one has me salivating!
Kristy says
The color on this is beautiful! So wonderfully appetizing…see this is why I need to roast a whole chicken this fall! 🙂
RavieNomNoms says
That is the prettiest roasted chicken I have ever seen!!
Stephanie @ Eat. Drink. Love. says
This chicken sounds so so delicious and flavorful! I might need to use this recipe when I finally decide to roast my own chicken!
Stephanie @ Eat. Drink. Love. says
OK, I’ve never made my own roasted chicken and after seeing this, I need to make it and I think I need to use this recipe! Your chicken looks so tender and delicious!
Ann says
This is a great recipe! My father doesn’t care for chicken, so we never had it a home…it was my first (and still favorite) “formal” dish. There is something so tasty and elegant about a roasted chicken…and it’s such an easy dish to make! I really like the addition of honey on this and roasting on a bed of onions.
Best of luck with your trip…I hope it’s successful and fun!
Heather says
I love roasted chicken…this is so beautiful and elegant looking!
Anita Silvert says
do you think this would work well with chicken pieces, instead of a whole chicken? My family likes that a little better, and I’m much more successful with it too!
Hester aka The Chef Doc says
What a beautiful bird, lady! It looks so scrumptious, Tori, and the honey wine sauce at the end! Ahhhh! I’ll definitely be trying it out 🙂 Have fun on your media tour!