Cilantro Lime Roasted Chicken is a super flavorful roasted chicken that marinates for 24 hours for maximum yumminess! I made 3 of these this week. Both in the oven and on my grill!
Have you ever had one of those mornings? You know the ones when your computer doesn’t want to cooperate with you. I was having one of those mornings today and uploading my first picture to WordPress. So after about two hours of messing around with it, I gave up and used the picture that it wants to use! Ha, the story of my life, computer glitches. Sucks that I’m such a perfectionist. Anyway, it’s way too nice outside to be dealing with things that I can’t control. I had to take a deep breath and go outside and sit in the sun.
This week I realized that I haven’t roasted a chicken in ages. I’m not sure why because it used to be a Sunday ritual. I adore a good roasted chicken. I decided to mix things up a bit this week and give the bird a good soak in a heavily seasoned marinade before roasting. I say “heavily” seasoned because you need the flavors to penetrate the bird for maximum flavor value. Along with the fantastic marinade, I stabbed the heck out of the bird so that it could really get in and flavor it even more. (Plus, it was just fun to “stab” something, lol)!
This week’s marinade is filled with fresh cilantro, lime juice, some honey to balance out the acidity, tons of spices and a generous amount of salt for a little brining action. Stabbing the bird surprisingly worked really well with getting all the flavors evenly incorporated throughout.
I made this recipe three times this week. Two times in the oven and last night on the Traeger grill at a friends house for a dinner party. Roasted chickens are amazing either way and equally as easy to cook. Both are cooked at 350 degrees and left alone for 1 1/2- 2 hours or until the internal temperature is 165 degrees. That’s it. It’s really hard to mess up a roasted chicken!
When you plan on making this Cilantro Lime Roasted Chicken, allow yourself 24 hours before cooking time to let it marinate. If you don’t have 24 hours, let it sit for 8 hours. It’s all good either way!
Enjoy. I’m going back outside to load up on more vitamin D! 🙂
Here’s a good way to legally stab something! Haha! Stabbing the chicken will help the marinade get into the chicken! Make sure you get the legs and the bottom as well.
It’s in the bag… waiting for an overnight soak!
It was a perfect Colorado spring night complete with smoking a chicken and having one helluva cosmopolitan!
My friends bought my old Traeger when I got a newer model! It was fun to see the old girl! She still cooks like a champ!
The second time around went on the Traeger. Dang, that grill cooks the perfect bird every time!
Enjoy your roasted chicken anyway that you like! I loved mine in tacos. To me, it’s the perfect healthy meal. Chicken, vegetables, cheese, tortillas and hot sauce. Perfectly yummy.
We made tacos with the roasted chicken. I loaded mine up with avocado, tomatoes, cilantro, serrano peppers, queso fresco cheese and my favorite hot sauce!
Cilantro Lime Roasted Chicken
Ingredients
For the Marinade
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 cup canola or vegetable oil
- 2/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1/4 cup honey place in microwave for 30 seconds for easier whisking
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon pepper
Additional Ingredients/Supplies
- 1 5-6 pound chicken washed and patted dry
- gallon sized zip close bag
Instructions
To Make the Marinade/chicken
When preparing the chicken, give it a good rinse and pat it dry. With a knife, carefully stab it all over. Don't forget to get the underside and the legs.
- Add all the ingredients on the list to a gallon sized zip-close bag. Seal it up and squish it around with your hands until all the ingredients are incorporated.
- Un-zip the bag and add the chicken to the bag. A 5-6 pound bird will fit! Close the bag and turn the bag over a few times until the bird is coated.
- Place on a tea towel and put in the refrigerator for 8 hours preferably overnight. You will want to flip the bird over a few times to ensure evenly marinated meat.
To Cook the chicken
- Preheat the oven or grill to 350 degrees.
- Place the chicken in a roasting pan large enough to hold the bird. I strained off some of the garlic and cilantro and put on top of the chicken.
- Roast or grill the chicken for 1 1/2-2 hours or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Let the chicken rest for 15 minutes before slicing.