Every summer we order a large amount of chickens from a local organic farm, in hopes they will last for a year. Most of the time I cut them up myself. It gives me the freedom of keeping one or two whole for a nice chicken dinner. Well, I have had two whole chickens sitting in the freezer for quite some time, just waiting to be cooked. Usually my husband is the one that cooks the turkey for Thanksgiving every year. So, I have never really tackled a whole bird before.
A few weeks ago, I was chatting with Kyra, and she mentioned how she discovered an awesome way to cook a whole chicken. She posted the recipe on her blog, which made me really excited to try it myself. Boy oh boy. Who would have thought that roasting a chicken could be so easy! Rub it down in a little olive oil, sprinkle on some herbs, then throw it into the oven in a cast iron skillet! So easy. It was absolutely delicious, and it made the house smell so good. The skin was a lovely crispy brown, while the inside was tender. It was just the right size to feed my family of four with just a few left overs. I served the chicken with mashed potatoes and my favorite green bean recipe, and we had a great chicken dinner on a cold winter’s evening!
Recipe from Lily’s House
Skillet Roasted Chicken
This wonderfully simple way to cook a whole chicken yields a crispy, seasoned exterior with a tender inside. Perfect for any time of the year.
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken
- 1 whole apple (optional)
- kosher salt
- dried rosemary
- granulated garlic
- dried thyme
- ground pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Sprinkle some kosher salt inside the cavity of the chicken. Place the apple in the cavity, if using.
- Place the whole chicken in a large cast iron skillet. Drizzle the whole chicken well with olive oil. Sprinkle kosher salt, rosemary, granulated garlic, thyme and pepper over the chicken. ( I like a lot of seasoning, so I did this heavily. But, it's up to you how much you want to use.)
- Place the skillet into the preheated oven. Roast for 1- 1 1/2 hours, or until a thermometer inserted into the chicken reaches 170ºF. Make sure to baste the chicken every 25 minutes so the skin doesn't dry out. Remove from the oven and let sit for a few minutes before carving.
