It’s Sunday at my house and there is nothing more perfect to have than a beautiful roasted chicken for the family. When I decided to make this dish, I was so excited and had this expectation in my head of how gorgeous it was going to turn out. Well it did not start out beautiful or fantastic but the ending of the story is a happy one with a delicious roasted chicken! As I have said previously, I love using my fresh herbs from my garden because it takes me to my happy place when I cook with them.
A friend from work actually inspired me to make this dish when we had started talking about using fresh herbs in our cooking. She had told me that she liked to use fresh sage and dried lavender in an herb blend similar to a Herbes de Provence. This was exciting for me because sage and lavender had been growing out of my ears and I needed a way to use them up. Well I decided that I was going to make something with them right away and heck let’s just throw it on a chicken.
I snipped and gathered all my fresh herbs in a sweet anticipation of my perfectly roasted chicken. I thought it would be brilliant (brilliant I say!) to turn my herb mixture into a compound butter and smear that deliciousness all over my perfect 4lb chicken. My imagination and reality did not come together for this recipe though and it was pretty much a hot mess express. Picture this, my beautiful herbaceous compound butter sticking onto everything except for the most important thing… the stupid chicken! My friend who had given me the advice of using a compound butter forgot to warn me of one important fact, that chicken skin better be bone dry or it won’t ever work.
So here I am, in the kitchen, staring at about a half a cup of herbaceous butter on my hands wondering what am I going to do now and there goes my post for the blog. I managed to get some of the butter to stick and I threw it into my air-fryer after stuffing my herb bouquet into the cavity figuring no matter what it would taste delicious, if not quite perfect. Well about 10 mins into my chicken cooking, I got an idea in my head… an evil genius idea. What if I just melted the compound butter and basted my chicken with it? Let me just say I’m glad that I can think on my feet because this was actually a real brilliant idea unlike my precious duds. So let the basting commence!
My gorgeous compound butter received a quick melt in the microwave and I used my basting brush to coated the top part of the chicken. After 30 minutes of cooking, I flipped the chicken and I basted it two more times until it was finished. When it was done, I thought it looked like the masterpiece that I had planned all along. The meat was juicy and tender, skin crispy and tasty, and the herbs made it oh so flavorful. Moral of the story is that even when your ideas don’t go according to plan, plan B might be a better option anyways.
Don’t forget to share your masterpieces, whether they are perfect or not, because I would love to see and hear how this turned out for you. Please tag me on instagram @exhaustedketomomma or use my hashtag #exhaustedketomomma and of course I would love to have you join my Facebook page or Facebook Support Group! Keto strong my lovely people and enjoy your Sunday dinners!
Herbed Airfryer Chicken
Enjoy this easy flavorful chicken recipe that is sure to impress your family and make them think that you slaved away in the kitchen. This is such a simple delicious way to cook a whole chicken in an airfryer that won't heat up your entire kitchen and produces a perfectly cooked chicken everytime.
Ingredients
- 4-5 lb whole chicken, giblets and innards removed and skin patted dry
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter or olive oil
- 1 tbsp rosemary
- 1 tbsp thyme
- 1 tbsp sage
- 1 tbsp lavender (dried)
- 1/2 tbsp fresh parsley
- 1 whole lemon, zested and then cut into quarters
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1/2 medium onion, cut in half
- sprig of: thyme, rosemary, parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
- cooking twine
- 5.7 quart capacity air-fryer
Directions
- Take the chicken and remove everything from the cavity. Pat the chicken dry and season with salt.
- Using cooking twine, tie the chicken legs together and then set to the side.
- Wrap the sprigs of rosemary, thyme, and parsley together with cooking twine and put into the cavity with the onion quarters and lemon quarters. (You might only be able to fit half a lemon, this is fine)
- Take all the herbs, garlic, and lemon zest and place them in a food processor and pulse until well combined.
- Add melted butter or olive oil to the herb mixture and blend again.
- Preheat the airfryer to 350 degrees for 2-3 minutes.
- Place the chicken into the basket with the breast side down. Bast the whole top of the chicken with the herb mixture and place it into the airfryer. Cook for 30 minute, basting once again in the middle of that.
- Flip the chicken over, bast again and continue to cook it for another 20-25 minutes depending on the size of the chicken. I recommend basting it again one more time during that 20-25 minutes as well.
- The chicken is ready once it reaches 165 degrees internal temperature, let the chicken rest for 10 mins prior to carving into it then serve! I like to pair this dish with some fresh green beans or a cauliflower mash. Enjoy! ** This dish has 0 net carbs and you just have to count your protein and fat based on what piece of chicken you eat.
Exhausted Keto Momma 