This Cowboy Butter Roasted Chicken Recipe Is Incredibly Moist & Flavorful by Donna John

Cowboy butter has been on my list of recipes to make for a while. Cowboy butter is a compound butter that's sweet, rich, smoky and savory. Some of the main players in the flavored butter with southern roots are garlic, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, lemon zest, smoked paprika and crushed red pepper flakes, but as with any recipe, the ingredients can vary from cook to cook.

When I first tasted cowboy butter, I immediately knew I wanted to use it on chicken. This juicy, savory whole roasted chicken recipe was the end result. The smoky, tangy cowboy butter added not only flavor, but helped keep the chicken moist. Plus it came out beautifully golden and looked amazing on the platter before carving (eyes eat first).

To make this succulent,  high-protein, low-carb baked chicken recipe you will need to grab the following ingredients from your fridge, pantry and spice rack: a whole chicken, garlic powder, dried thyme, parsley flakes, salt, black pepper, butter, fresh garlic, lemons for juicing and zesting (check out the health benefits of lemon), Dijon mustard, smoked paprika and onion powder. The cowboy butter is cooked quickly before being used as a glaze and basting sauce for the chicken.

Cooking Tips: If you want some of the sauce to serve with the chicken, remove it and set aside so none of the raw chicken gets into it. You could use boneless chicken thighs or breasts instead of a whole chicken. Boneless chicken usually takes about 20 to 30 minutes in the oven, depending on size and thickness.

Serve this roasted chicken for dinner with your favorite side dishes. I served mine with a simple hash brown casserole and black pepper bacon green beans. It was a flavorful dinner, ya'll!

Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes (ovens vary)
Total Time: 1 1/2 hours
Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken (about 3 pounds)
• garlic powder
• dried thyme
• parsley flakes
• salt and black pepper

Cowboy Butter

• 6 tablespoons butter
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 lemon, juiced and zested
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• crushed red pepper flakes, to taste

Here's how to make it: 

1. Melt the butter in a saucepot. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds.
   
2. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, crushed red pepper flakes, smoked paprika and onion powder. Cook, stirring, about 1 minute. Turn off the heat and set aside. (Some people like to put their cowboy butter into a blender. If you're serving it just as a compound butter, I would do it. But, if you're using it as a baste for chicken, there's really no need.)
   
3. Put the chicken into a baking dish or roasting pan. Season both sides with salt, black pepper, thyme and garlic powder, to taste.
   
4. Baste the chicken with some of the cowboy butter on both sides.
   
5. Bake the chicken in a preheated 350-degree F oven for about 1 hour. Remove the chicken and baste with the remaining cowboy butter.
   
6. Return the chicken to the oven and cook about 15 more minutes, or until chicken is cooked through (165 degrees F internal temperature with a food thermometer).
   
7. Let the chicken rest a few minutes before carving and serving. Store any leftover chicken in an airtight container in the fridge.
   

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