Lemon Pepper Chicken Roast | Whole Chicken Recipe | Christmas Party Recipe

Christmas was great for us, we planned a simple meal just for the two of us and this Lemon Pepper Chicken was one of the recipe that was made. Its a simple Whole Chicken Recipe that has a basic marinate and no curd/ yogurt involved. Since I am a big fan of lemon chicken incorporated it using a whole chicken  The tangy taste of lemon and spicy pepper gives a great combination in this recipe. Try it for yourself and you will love it. To all my blogger friends I have been super busy with husband on leave and not finding time to visit your recipes too. 


The recipe involved 2 marinates and of coarse its great to marinate the chicken overnight but you can also reduce marination time for 3 hrs. The chicken is super moist and its more healthier since I did not use the skin and very minimal oil while grilling. Check out my Tandoori Whole Chicken recipe HERE. 

Recipe Source ~ Own 
Serves ~ 3
Prep time ~ 3 hrs - overnight
Cook time ~ 50 mins, flipping sides thrice

Ingredients 

Whole baby chicken (skinless)- 1 
Lemon juice - 2 tbsp
Lemon zest - 1 tsp
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Pepper - 1 tsp
Corriander - 1 tsp
Jeera/ Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Dark Soya Sauce - 1 tbsp
Salt - as needed

Method 

• Wash the chicken and its cavity with cold running water and making sure that its pat dry. Make deep insertions / cuts on the chicken, this helps the marinate to penetrate inside the chicken. 
• Mix turmeric, salt, 1 tbsp lemon juice and rub  it over the chicken on all sides, cover and set it in the refrigerator for 20 mins.
• Prepare the second marination - lemon zest, pepper, cumin, soya sauce, corriander, ginger garlic paste. Spread it evenly on the chicken and its  cavity. Cover and refrigerate in highest setting for minimum 3 hrs or over night 
• Before baking make sure that the chicken is in room temperature ( would take around 30 mins) , preheat oven to 400 F/200 C and prepare a baking tray with foil and set the chicken on it. 
• Bake for 20 mins and flip side and bake for another 20 mins. Later again flip side and bake for another 10 mins. Take it out of the oven and let it rest in the tray for 5-6 mins

Serve immediately along with cut lemon wedges, onions / tomato

Cooks Wisdom 

- Always take care to wash hands before and after handling meat to avoid spreading of bacteria

- Making insertions on the chicken helps the marinate to flavor inside

- Marinating chicken overnight builds lots of flavor and helps chicken to be soft

- Never put a cold chicken in the oven it tends to shock the chicken and does not cook properly

- Always cover the chicken in the refrigerator to avoid contamination of other food stuffs 

- Using silver foil helps the chicken from sticking to the baking tray and also its easy to clean.

Sending this to Ramya's Event; Siri's Event, Divya & Jagruti's event