Step 1

Preheat the oven to 375°F. If you're going to add the herbs on top: remove the leaves from the thyme, rosemary and sage. Use a sharp knife to mince these herbs into fine pieces. Use your knife to mince the garlic clove as well before combining the minced garlic and minced herbs together. Temporarily set aside next to your cut up lemon quarters. If you're using whole herbs, simple preheat your oven and skip the rest of this step.

Step 2

Rinse and remove any giblets from the inside of the chicken. Thoroughly pat dry the chicken using paper towels.

Step 3

Drizzle olive oil over (or melted butter) over the chicken, using your hand to rub the oil all over the surface of the chicken (including its wings and legs). Flip the chicken over and repeat on the backside.

Step 4

Sprinkle 3/4 salt tsp all over the breast side of the chicken, including its wings and legs. Then sprinkle 1/4 tsp salt into the inside cavity of the chicken, before flipping the chicken over and sprinkling another 1/2 tsp of salt all over the backside of the chicken.

Step 5

Grind some fresh ground pepper over the backside of the chicken, then flip it over and grind some pepper over the breast side.

Step 6

Gently stuff the inside cavity of the chicken with the lemon quarters. If using minced herbs, cover the breast side (including legs and wings) of the chicken with the herb/garlic mixture. If using whole herbs, simply place the herbs and garlic clove in the inside cavity of the chicken as well. If you're stuffing the chicken with herbs, you can use twine to tie the chicken legs together to keep the cavity shut (optional).

Step 7

Grab a 9" by 11" baking dish and slightly grease the bottom of the dish with some oil or butter. Place the chicken into the dish (breast-side facing up), and place in the oven to bake.

Step 8

Bake the chicken for 1 hour and 30 minutes at 375°F or until a food thermometer reads 165°F when inserted in the thigh area and breast area. Loosely cover the chicken with a sheet of foil and let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.