The ultimate in gourmet comfort food with lemon and herb pepper, garlic and a creamy lemon sauce, this creamy Lemon and Herb Roasted Chicken with Caper Cream Sauce is out of this world.
Pre heat your oven to 425 degrees.
Take your whole chicken and rinse thoroughly under cold water. Pat the bird dry with paper towels and lay it on a large plastic cutting board. Make sure the bird is laying on its back with the legs facing you.
Stuff the garlic slices underneath the skin of the breasts then take 4 lemon slices and do the same. Arrange 2 lemon slices per side in between the skin and the breast meat (Stuff the rest of the lemon slices inside the cavity of the bird). Stuff the orange and bay leaves inside the cavity of the bird. Then cover the skin of the bird with olive oil, Herbie's Lemon & Pepper, and salt to taste.
Place about three feet of butcher’s twine under the chicken, just behind the wings. Pull the twine over and around the wings.Then, by crossing the twine underneath the tip of the breast, pull the wings snug against the bird. Wrap twine over and then under the legs and pull the legs tight while pushing towards the thighs to remove slack. Flip the chicken over and cross the twine over the tail of the chicken. Pull tight, then tie off with a knot and trim the extra twine.
Place the trussed and prepped chicken on to a roasting rack or a sheet tray lined with foil in your pre heated oven. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes then turn the temperature down to 350 degrees and continue baking for 50 minutes or until the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
Meanwhile, to make the sauce. Heat the butter in a medium saute pan. Once the butter has melted add the garlic and a pinch of salt. Cook for 2 minutes then add the white wine and reduce until the wine is almost evaporated all the way. Next add the chicken stock and reduce the volume by half. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the dijon mustard, sour cream, and capers. Reserve.
Once the chicken is done, remove it from the oven and let it rest on a cutting board for 20 minutes.
To serve: cut the chicken into 8 pieces and serve with the caper cream sauce drizzled over the top. Enjoy with Williamson Wines Joy Sauvignon Blanc!
Tommy's Tips: Would you like a creamy citrus sauce instead of capers? Simply remove the capers from the recipe and when you go to make the sauce add the juice of both 1 lemon and 1 orange and follow the original instructions.