Ovnsstekt påskekylling

The story

In Norway the main festive meal of Easter is eaten on påskeaften, Easter Eve, the Saturday before Easter Sunday; in 2027 that is March 27. The Oslo guide Aktiv i Oslo notes that very many Norwegian families serve Easter lamb or chicken that evening, and that Easter Eve is also the day children usually receive påskeegg, Easter eggs filled to the brim with candy. Chicken fits the season in another way: the Norwegian recipe site Matoppskrift lists chicks, eggs and hares as the standard Easter decorations and calls yellow the Easter color. The Norwegian business daily Dagens Næringsliv included a whole roast chicken, its cavity filled with lemon, garlic, butter and fresh herbs, in a 2020 feature of six dinners for Easter. This version follows a common Norwegian home method, as in a recipe from the Norwegian baking and cooking site Det søte liv: a whole bird rubbed with garlic and thyme butter, a lemon in the cavity, and potatoes, carrots and onion roasting underneath in the pan juices. Norwegian recipes often take chicken out of the oven at a lower internal temperature; this one follows the USDA guideline of 165°F in the thigh. Serve it with a green salad or buttered peas, and start the bird about two and a half hours before dinner.