Djaj Mishwi (Lebanese Roast Chicken with Garlic and Lemon)

About This Recipe

Djaj mishwi is Lebanon's home-style roast chicken, marinated in a generous mixture of garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and baharat (Lebanese seven-spice blend) before roasting until the skin turns deeply golden and the meat stays tender throughout. It's a Sunday family dinner staple, often served alongside rice pilaf with vermicelli, roasted vegetables, and toum for dipping, embodying the bright, garlic-forward flavors central to Lebanese home cooking. The technique that defines this chicken is the marinade's contact time and the basting: garlic and lemon need hours, ideally overnight, to properly tenderize and season the meat, while regular basting with pan juices during roasting is essential for building a deeply golden, flavorful skin. Baharat -- a warm blend typically including allspice, cinnamon, cumin, and black pepper -- gives the chicken its distinctly Lebanese aromatic backbone, different from the paprika-forward marinades found in some other Middle Eastern roast chicken traditions. Served with rice pilaf, toum, and a simple salad, djaj mishwi is straightforward, deeply flavorful Lebanese comfort food, the kind of dish found at nearly every family gathering across the country.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1.6 kgwhole chicken
• 6 clovesgarlic(minced)
• 0.33 cuplemon juice
• 3 tbspolive oil
• 1.5 tspbaharat (Lebanese seven-spice)
• 1 tspsalt
• 0.5 tspblack pepper
• 1lemon(halved, for cavity)
• 1onion(quartered)
• 0.5 cupchicken stock
• 2 cupsrice pilaf with vermicelli(for serving)
• 0.5 cuptoum (garlic sauce)(for serving)

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the marinade

   Combine garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, baharat, salt, and pepper into a paste.

2. 2

   Marinate the chicken

   Rub the marinade all over the chicken, under the skin and inside the cavity. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.

3. 3

   Prep for roasting

   Preheat oven to 200C/400F. Stuff cavity with halved lemon. Place onion in a roasting pan and set the chicken on top. Pour in stock.

4. 4

   Roast

   Roast 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 180C/350F and continue roasting 50-60 minutes, basting every 20 minutes.

5. 5

   Check doneness

   Chicken is done when a thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh reads 74C/165F.

6. 6

   Rest and serve

   Rest 10 minutes before carving. Serve with rice pilaf, toum, and pan juices spooned over.

Variations

• •

  Spatchcock the chicken for faster, more even roasting, reducing total time to about 55-60 minutes.

• •

  Add potatoes to the roasting pan in the last 45 minutes so they cook in the flavorful drippings.

• •

  Serve with a side of grilled vegetables instead of rice for a lighter meal.

Storage

Refrigerate leftover chicken up to 3 days in an airtight container. Reheat in a 180C/350F oven for 12-15 minutes to keep the skin from turning soggy.

Frequently Asked Questions