Blackberry Chicken Recipe (with Blackberry Butter)

Roasted Chicken with Blackberry Butter on a blue platter with fresh blackberries.

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 an especially lovely centerpiece for everything from a casual family dinner to an elegant gathering.

Prep Time30

Cook Time1 5

Resting Time15

Total Time1 50

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chicken for family dinner, fall comfort food recipes

Servings:

Calories: 469kcal

Author: Valentina K. Wein

Equipment

Ingredients

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
about 1⅓ cups fresh blackberries, washed and dried, divided
1 tablespoon lemon zest (from about 1 large lemon)
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme, washed and dried
¼ teaspoon minced garlic
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 (approximately 4-pound) whole chicken
a few sprigs of fresh thyme for garnish

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Set the oven and make the blackberry butter. Preheat the oven to 500°F.
In a small bowl, combine the softened butter with ⅓ cup of the blackberries. Use the back of a small fork to mash them. Then add the lemon zest, thyme, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix until it's relatively smooth (there will be pieces of blackberries throughout, which is okay). Set aside.
Prep the chicken and roasting dish. Remove the insides of the chicken, and pat it dry with paper towels.
Spread about 2 tablespoons of the blackberry-thyme butter on the bottom of a small roasting pan that's at least a couple of inches larger than the chicken.
Baste and truss. Place the chicken in the pan, on top of the butter, breast side up. Rub the blackberry-thyme butter mixture under the skin. (This should include the breasts and legs.) Gently work your way under as much of the skin as possible - if it tears a little, it's okay.
Now truss the chicken with butcher's twine. (Here's How to Truss a Chicken.) (It's also okay to just tie the ends of the legs together if trussing it becomes tricky.)
Rub the remaining blackberry butter mixture on top - all over the skin of the chicken.
Begin roasting. Being sure the chicken is breast side up, place the pan in the preheated 500°F oven and roast until the surface of the chicken is golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove the chicken from the oven and reduce the heat to 350°F.
Flip. Very carefully, using tongs, cooking gloves, or whatever method is easiest for you, gently turn the chicken so the breast side is now down and the back is facing up.
Continue roasting. Once the oven has cooled to 350°F, continue to roast the chicken until internal temperature is 155°F - this should take 45 minutes to an hour, but focus only on the temperature and not the time. For an accurate temperature, stick an insert an instant-read thermometer into the thickest part of the meat without touching the bone.
If the chicken is becoming too brown before it reaches temperature, loosely cover it with foil.
During the roasting process, every 15 minutes or so, use a spoon to baste the chicken with the butter and juices from the bottom of the pan.
The final internal temperature will be about 165°F, as the chicken will continue to cook for several minutes outside of the oven. It should be nicely browned, the juices should run clear and the legs should move easily when it's done.
Let the chicken rest. When you remove the chicken from the oven, baste it again, and then use a piece of crumbled foil to tilt it, putting it beneath one end, so the breast end is lower. This allows all of the juices to flow to the breasts. Wait at least 15 minutes before carving.
Garnish. Use the remaining 1 cup of the blackberries and the thyme sprigs for garnish.

Notes

Nutritional information is automatically calculated, so it should only be used as an estimate.

Nutrition