Blackberry Chicken Recipe (with Blackberry Butter)

This Blackberry Chicken Recipe is made with homemade blackberry butter infused with fresh lemon and thyme. With its beautifully caramelized skin, the roasted chicken is an especially lovely centerpiece for everything from a casual family dinner to an elegant gathering.

Blackberries and chicken might not be an obvious pairing, but they're incredibly delicious together. The berries bring a unique, subtle sweet-tart flavor to the savory roasted chicken.

The blackberry butter is spread both under and over the skin, so as it roasts, it melts into the meat and helps create deeply golden, caramelized skin.

The finished chicken is juicy and flavorful with crisp, beautifully browned skin.

Ingredient Notes

• fresh blackberries - Fresh berries are ideal for the blackberry butter. Choose ripe berries that are plump and flavorful. You'll also use additional fresh blackberries for garnish. Substitution: You can use frozen blackberries if they’re completely thawed and drained.
• unsalted butter - Use unsalted butter so you can control the salt. Let it soften at room temperature so it combines easily with the blackberries.
• lemon zest - A little lemon zest brightens the blackberry butter and balances the sweetness of the fruit.
• fresh thyme - Thyme's earthy, slightly floral flavor pairs especially well with both blackberries and roasted chicken. If you need to substitute with dried thyme, use about two-thirds the amount.
• fresh garlic - Just a small amount adds savory depth without overpowering the blackberry flavor. Look for firm heads of garlic without any soft spots or green shoots (If there are green shoots in your garlic cloves, slice them in half, lengthwise, and remove the green root with the tip of a knife. The rest of the clove should still be good.) Substitution: Pinch of garlic powder.
• whole chicken - This recipe is written for an approximately 4-pound chicken. Cooking time will vary depending on its size, so use the internal temperature as your guide.
• kosher salt - I cook with kosher salt because I like its larger flake size and it usually doesn't contain additives. (If you use table salt, use half the amount.)
• black pepper - Preferably freshly ground.

How to Make Blackberry Chicken

- Preheat the oven to 500°F.

- Make the blackberry butter. In a small bowl, combine the softened butter with ⅓ cup of the blackberries. Use the back of a small fork to mash the berries into the butter.

- Add the lemon zest, thyme, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix until relatively smooth. Small pieces of blackberry throughout the butter are perfectly fine.

- Remove the insides of the chicken and pat it thoroughly dry with paper towels. Spread a couple of tablespoons of the blackberry butter over the bottom of a small roasting pan that's at least a couple of inches larger than the chicken.

- Gently loosen the skin over the breasts and legs and work about half of the remaining butter underneath it. (Try not to tear the skin, but don’t worry if you do - it’s okay!)

- Truss the chicken with butcher's twine.

Recipe Tip: Here's a video of an easy guide for trussing a chicken. If you'd rather not fully truss it, you can simply tie the ends of the legs together. Trussing the chicken helps keep it juicy.

- Rub the remaining blackberry butter all over the outside of the chicken.
Place the chicken, breast-side up, in the preheated 500°F oven and roast until the skin is golden brown, about 20 minutes.

- Remove the pan from the oven and reduce the temperature to 350°F. Carefully flip the chicken so it is breast-side down.

- Then continue roasting until the internal temperature reaches 155°F, about 1 hour (more or less, depending on the weight of your chicken). Every 15 minutes or so, baste the chicken with the butter and juices from the bottom of the pan.

- For the most accurate reading, insert an instant-read thermometer into the thickest part of the meat without touching the bone.

Recipe Tip: If the chicken is becoming too brown before it reaches temperature, loosely cover it with foil.

- Remove the chicken from the oven and baste it once more. Crumple a large piece of foil and place it beneath one end of the chicken to tilt it so the breast end is lower. This allows the juices to move toward the breasts while it rests.

- Let the chicken rest for at least 15 minutes before carving. The internal temperature should reach about 165°F after the resting time. (This is called carryover cooking.)

- Surround the chicken with the remaining fresh blackberries and thyme sprigs before serving.

Variations

• Use chicken pieces. Instead of roasting a whole chicken, you can make this with bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs or breasts or boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs. For the latter, the cooking time will be much shorter.
• Try other herbs. Blackberry chicken is also delicious if you make the butter with rosemary, or a combination of rosemary and thyme.
• Spicy version. A pinch or two of crushed red pepper flakes in the blackberry butter adds a subtle spicy contrast to the sweet-tart berries.
• Use other berries. Raspberries, blueberries, or strawberries can all be fantastic - or any combination thereof.

Serving Suggestions

For entertaining, arrange the carved chicken on a large platter and scatter fresh blackberries and thyme around it. It makes a beautiful centerpiece with very little extra effort.

Blackberry Chicken is lovely with so many different side dishes...

• Roasted or mashed potatoes. It would be a total knockout served alongside purple Okinawan Mashed Potatoes!
• A side of rice or another hearty grain would be perfect with it. I especially love it with Cranberry Wild Rice.
• Roasted Brussels sprouts, green beans or colorful roasted root vegetables would all also be a great choice.
• And you can never go wrong with a simple green salad, or crusty bread for soaking up the flavorful pan juices.

Other Uses for Blackberry Butter

• Like my Avocado Butter, Blackberry Butter is a compound butter that can be used to spread on muffins, bagels, and toast.
• Melt it on a juicy steak.
• Finish sauces with it.
• Sauté fish, shrimp, or scallops in it.
• Add it to a stir-fry.
• Spread it over grilled corn.

More Must-Try Roasted Chicken Recipes

Can You Make Blackberry Chicken Ahead?

• You can make the blackberry butter portion of the recipe up to four days ahead. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator, then let it soften to room temperature before using it.
• The chicken can also be prepared several hours before roasting. Keep it refrigerated until you're ready to cook it, then take it out while the oven preheats.
• For the best results, I recommend roasting the chicken the day you plan to serve it, so it comes out of the oven as close to serving time as possible, ideally about 20 minutes before. This gives you the juiciest meat and crispiest skin.

I hope you love this blackberry chicken recipe as much as my family and I do!