This simple roasted chicken is bursting with sweet and savoury flavours from a delicious maple butter glaze and garlic butter sauce. The chicken is basted in the sauce making it incredibly juicy and tender. The sugars in the maple syrup caramelise as they cook, creating a rich and vibrant sauce. There is so much sauce left in the bottom of the pan that it’s perfect to scoop up with some fresh bread.
Maple butter roast chicken
This maple butter roast chicken has become such a favorite in our house! It’s bursting with rich and vibrant flavors from the maple syrup, chopped rosemary and garlic that are used in the butter sauce. While this dish will always impress guests, it’s also a great recipe for those needing a quick mid week dinner. You can have it on the table in under an hour! Serve with some bread or rice to make more of a filling and nutritious meal and to also mop up all of those delicious pan juices with.
Tips for the best roast chicken
How do you cook the perfect chicken? I’ve detailed all the tips I have so that you can also be enjoying a beautiful, tender, moist, perfectly cooked roast chicken.
- Pat dry. Remove as much moisture from the chicken as possible by patting the skin dry with paper towels
- Brine. Salt your chicken with kosher salt at least an hour if not the night before and leave uncovered in the fridge as this will act as a dry brine and leave you with moist and juicy meat
- Room temp. Take the chicken out of the fridge at least 30 mins before roasting it so it cooks evenly
- Season generously. The more seasoning the better but this doesn’t mean you have to use a variety of seasoning! Just kosher salt and black pepper can create the most delicious chicken you will ever eat.
- Leave your crispy skin expectations at the door. Contrary to what every roast chicken recipe will tell you, crispy chicken skin is a bit of a myth. While the skin will be crispy and golden brown as soon as it comes out of the oven, it will instantly go soft the minute you cut into it. This is okay! We don’t need crispy skin. Just trust Alison Roman and I on this one.
- Leave to rest. Allowing the meat to rest will allow all of that flavour to combine and for the juices to be redistributed across the meat – resting meat is very important and it needs to be done for at least 10 minutes.
- Spatchcock. This recipe calls for a spatchcock chicken. You can do this yourself with a sharp pair of kitchen scissors or ask your butcher to do it for you. If you want to cook with a whole chicken, roast for 1 hour and 20 minutes at 170C / 340F.
What you need for maple roasted chicken
The ingredient list for maple butter roast chicken is surprisingly short with most items being found in your pantry.
- Chicken. We obviously need a chicken to make a roasted chicken recipe! I have chosen to spatchcock the chicken for this recipe as it saves on cook time. It reduced the cook time by half! If you can’t spatchcock a chicken yourself your butcher can do it for you! However, you can also use a whole chicken if you prefer. Just increase the cook time to 1 hour and 20 minutes.
- Maple syrup. The maple syrup brings the sweetness to this dish. When the chicken roasts, the sugars in the maple syrup caramelise and create such a beautiful sauce. I like to use an organic maple syrup.
- Butter. Butter is needed for the maple syrup butter sauce. Any butter will work well in this recipe from salted to unsalted.
- Rosemary sprigs. Fresh herbs bring such a beautiful freshness to the sauce. I have chosen to use rosemary but you can also use fresh thyme or parsley.
- Garlic. I have used lots of fresh garlic for this recipe. You can either finely chop or mince the garlic with a garlic press.
- Salt and pepper. Use kosher salt or black pepper to season the chicken.
What to serve with you maple butter roast chicken
There are so many delicious pan juices that come with this maple butter roast chicken that you want to serve it with some fresh bread or rice. Below are a few other side dishes that will go great with it.
- Try making my homemade bread or focaccia to mop up all that delicious sauce with!
- Roasted potatoes are the perfect pairing to roast chicken! Give my garlic and duck fat potatoes a try!
- A light and refreshing salad like my tabouli will cut through all the rich flavours this recipe has to offer.
If you make this recipe, please tag me on so I can see your wonderful creations from Daen’s Kitchen!
Images by Alanna Penna Photography.
Maple butter roast chicken
Ingredients
- 3.5 lbs chicken, spatchcocked 1.5kg
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter 50g
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp rosemary finely chopped
- kosher sea salt
- black pepper
Instructions
- Pat the chicken skin dry with paper towel and generously season with kosher salt and black pepper all over. Place into a baking tray. If time allows, place the chicken into the fridge uncovered overnight. This step acts like a dry brine for juicy chicken results.
- When ready to cook, remove the chicken from the fridge 15 – 30 minutes prior to take the cold fridge chill off it.
- Preheat the oven to 170°C / 340°F conventional (150°C / 300°F fan-forced).
- To make the maple butter, combine the butter, garlic, maple syrup and rosemary into a small pot or microwave safe dish. Cook on a low heat on the stovetop for 5 minutes, until melted and combined. If using the microwave, cook for 2 minutes, stirring ever 30 seconds, or until the butter is melted.
- Pour the butter sauce all over the chicken, making sure its covered evenly. A lot of the butter will end up in the pan which will create a beautiful sauce once cooked.
- Roast the chicken for 45 minutes, basting with the juices every 15 minutes.
- Once the chicken is golden and brown on the outside and reads an internal temperature of 75 °C / 165°F, remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5 – 10 minutes before slicing into it. Serve immediately.
Leave a Reply