I’ve grown accustomed to cooking and eating various assorted chicken pieces on a regular basis: mostly thighs and breasts baked on a sheet pan or grilled. But until this week, I had never tackled the preparation of a whole chicken.

It was a little unnerving to cook this thing in the same room as nine parrots and a canary who all watched me suspiciously as I seasoned the carcass. But I think they’re ok with it.

Preparing the full bird turned out to be fairly straightforward and produced an exceptional meal. The meat was flavorful, rich, tender, juicy, and everything else that you could reasonably expect of a chicken. Accompanied by carrots, onion, and sweet potatoes, roast chicken made a hearty and healthful meal.

Ingredients

Steps:

1. Remove chicken from packaging and rinse in cool water. Check to be sure there are no neck, gizzard or other parts in the cavity.
2. Cut onions into several medium sized chunks and arrange them around the chicken in a Dutch Oven. Put a couple of the onion pieces into the cavities in the chicken.
3. Add olive oil and seasonings to the top of the chicken. Break a vegetable bouillon cube and rub it into the top of the chicken along with the other seasonings. It’s hard to over-season.
4. Put the lid on the Dutch Oven and bake at 425F for about 30 minutes.
5. Turn the oven down to 350F and continue cooking. Check the dish periodically. If liquid accumulates, pour it off and reserve (it can be used later to make chicken stock).
6. If desired, add carrots and/or red potatoes to the Dutch oven approximately 45 minutes before the completion of cooking.
7. Bake for about 2 hours in total (about 30 minutes at 425F and 1 hour 30 minutes at 350F). This chicken baked for 2 hours and 15 minutes, but a larger bird may need more time.

Notes and Results:

• On Baking: The initial cooking period at 425F helps to crisp the chicken skin and seal the juice and flavor into the meat. The larger the chicken, the longer time it will need to bake.
• On Seasoning: This particular blend of seasonings worked quite well (I really think the bouillon cube enhanced the flavor), but there are likely many other winning seasoning combinations. Fresh herbs would also be a welcome addition to the dish.
• On Ingredients: The addition of garlic could benefit this recipe, although I am not a big garlic fan and was satisfied with just the onions. Red potatoes could also be added to this dish with the carrots. Finally, butter could be used in place of (or in addition to) olive oil and might add a richer flavor.
• On chicken stock: The excess liquid removed over the course of baking can be saved and used to make chicken stock which has a wide range of applications. We also saved the bones and other leftover bits to make chicken stock.
• On Leftovers: If you don’t eat it all in one sitting, the leftover meat is very good. It can be incorporated into sandwiches, salads, and much more.