Okay so…. this is absolutely one of my favourite things to make. It is SO EASY, so delicious, and almost impossible to get wrong. Sure, you need to allocate some time to get this done right, but there’s very little active cooking involved, just pop it into the oven and off you go with your day. Roasting your chicken in a dutch oven ensures that you get a beautiful juicy roast chicken each time. Yes you’re not going to get the skin all crispy, but trust me this is way better. Slow cooking your chicken this way ensures you get the meat all moist, and all the juices drip into vegetables so you get amazing flavour out of it. I’ve experimented a lot with different herbs and spices, but the recipe below is what I’ve come to love. Given this takes some time, I usually make a larger portion on the weekend, so that I have enough leftovers for a second, (or third!) quick weekday meal.
Roast Chicken Recipe ( Slow cooked Dutch Oven style)
Prep time : 15 minutes
Cooking time : 3-4 hours, depending on size of chicken
You’ll need :
- 1 whole chicken ( around 1.2-1.5Kg, adjust depending on how many people you’re serving, or how big your appetite is!)
- 2 x yellow onion
- 3 x carrots
- 4 x large potatoes
- Half a fennel (optional)
- Half a squash ( optional but this cooks so well with chicken if you can get it)
- 5 garlic cloves ( more if you love garlic!)
- Cumin powder
- Dried Tarragon
- A few sprigs of Thyme and Rosemary
- Butter ( 1 inch chunk)
Prep :
- Preheat your oven at 160 degrees celsius
- Melt down your butter on low heat in a pan and leave aside to cool
- Chop up your veggies and set aside
– Slice your onions into quarters and smash your garlic cloves with the side of your knife ( no need to peel )
– Cut your carrots into 2-3 pieces, and potatoes and squash into chunks
– If you have fennel, slice it into thick strips ( save the fronds, the feathery things at the top) - Now, take your melted down butter and massage it all over the chicken. Get it into the crevices, and if you can, slide your fingers between the meat and skin of the chicken and get some butter in there too. ( there’s usually an opening at either end of the chicken where you can, ahem, enter). Then, salt and pepper your chicken, and use a mix of dried tarragon and cumin powder to go all over the skin. Don’t forget to season the cavity of the chicken as well!
- Stuff the chicken cavity with one or two chopped up carrots, a quarter onion, 2 garlic cloves, your rosemary and thyme, and the fennel fronds. For the rest of the vegetables, lay it at the bottom of your Dutch oven, and place your chicken on top of it. Cover your Dutch Oven with your lid and ensure the lid is tightly closed.
Cook :
- Place your dutch oven in the pre-heated oven and let it cook for 3-4 hours, basting the chicken with its juices every 1.5 hours or so. You’ll know it’s ready when the meat is fall off the bone tender.
And yup, that’s it! Super easy to prep and so delicious. This is a real classic and I make it on the reg at least once a month. You’ll be surprised at how much flavour you get out of this. Any leftovers I save in the fridge and heat up in the oven or on the stove. It gets even more delicious 🙂
*Pro Tip : Once you’ve finished your meal you can also use the chicken carcass to make some stock. Throw all the bones into a pot of water, add two sticks of celery, one chopped up carrot, one onion cut into quarters, some rosemary and thyme, and half a bulb of smashed up garlic. Bring to a boil for 15 minutes. Then turn down the heat , and let it simmer for 3 hours. Strain and discard the vegetables, sieve out any extra oil and you have homemade chicken stock ready for a hotpot meal as a base or whatever else you might need chicken stock for! Freeze in fridge if you’re gonna keep it for longer.
Let me know in the comments how you get on!
xx Kerri