Zesty Cilantro Lime Roasted Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 whole fryer chicken, somewhere around 5 lbs
• 1 lime, zested & juiced
• 1/2 bunch cilantro
• 3 green onions, roughly chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1/4 c olive oil
• coconut oil or lard for greasing
• salt to taste (I use approx. 2 tsp)

Instructions

Get chicken out of the fridge ASAP.  It's important for moist roasted chicken that you bring the chicken to room temperature.  If it goes from fridge to the oven, half of the cooking time is just bringing the chicken temperature up and the temperature will be different in each part of the chicken because some parts cook faster than others.

Now, split the chicken in half.  I use kitchen shears that can cut through the cartilage of the chicken.  Right down the middle.  First cut along the back, cutting just to the side of the backbone.  Start at the neck and cut down to the tailbone.  Turn it over to the breast side and cut down the middle (between the breasts).  This will leave you with two halves of the chicken.  Lay the chicken breast side up in a roasting pan or a large oven safe dish.  I prefer using a Pampered Chef Stoneware Bar Pan, but any baking dish will do.

In your food processor or blender.  Puree the lime zest, lime juice, cilantro (w/stems),  onions, garlic, olive oil and salt.  Smear mixture all over the chicken (top and bottom).  Use the time it takes the chicken to come to room temperature as marinade time.

Preheat your oven to 400F.  Bake until the temperature in the thigh of the chicken is around 150-165F.  It should take about 45 minutes.

Recipe adapted from Food Renegade's Zesty Cilantro Lime Roasted Chicken.