French Chicken in a Pot
Ingredients
1 whole roasting chicken (4 1⁄2-5 pounds), giblets removed and discarded, wings tucked under the bird
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1⁄4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 small celery stalk, chopped
6 medium cloves garlic, peeled and trimmed (about 2 tablespoons)
1 bay leaf
1 medium sprig fresh rosemary
Juice from 1⁄2 lemon
Instructions
1. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 250*F. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat until just smoking. Add chicken breast-side down; scatter onion, celery, garlic, bay leaf, and rosemary around chicken. Cook until chicken is lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Using a wooden spoon inserted into cavity of bird, flip chicken breast-side up and cook until chicken and vegetables are well browned; 6 to 8 minutes.
2. Remove Dutch oven from heat; place large sheet of foil over pot and cover tightly with lid. Transfer pot to oven and cook until instant-read thermometer registers 160*F when inserted in thickest part of breast and 175*F in thickest part of thigh, 80 to 110 minutes.
3. Transfer chicken to carving board, tent with foil, and rest 20 minutes. Meanwhile, strain chicken juices from pot through fine-mesh strainer into fat separator, pressing on solids to extract liquid; discard solids (you should have about 3⁄4 cup juices). Allow liquid to settle 5 minutes, then pour into saucepan and set over low heat. Discard fat. Carve chicken, adding any accumulated juices to saucepan. Stir lemon juice into jus to taste. Serve chicken, passing jus at table.
Comments
I don’t have a lot of experience with whole chickens. Art has never been a fan of dark meat, so there just wasn’t a point in making a whole bird if I was the only one who would eat the dark meat! Then Lance came along and he enjoys dark meat too, so cooking whole chickens was suddenly a worthwhile endeavor!
This recipe from the 2008 Annual of Cook’s Illustrated caught my eye because I’m always looking for new ways to use the Dutch oven. Not to mention that Cook’s Illustrated has never done me wrong. The chicken came out very tender, moist, and flavorful. It was an extremely simple process to prepare and the jus was lovely – much lighter than typical gravy so it went with the flavors of the chicken quite well!
Shown here with Sautéed Wax (or Green) Beans.
Cook’s Illustrated 2008