French Chicken in a Pot
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1
2 t ¼ t 1 T 1 small 2 1 6 cloves 1 1 ½ - 1 |
whole roasting chicken (4.5 to 5 lbs)
kosher salt ground black pepper olive oil onion celery carrot garlic bay leaf medium spring fresh rosemary lemon juice |
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- Heat oven to 250 with rack at lowest position.
- Remove giblets. Wash & pat dry the chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Fold wings under. Get seasonings up under the skin of the breast and thigh if you know how to do this.
- Peal and corse chop vegetables.
- Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat until just smoking. Add chicken breast side down and cook until breast is lightly browned, about 4 to 5 minutes.
- Use a wooden spoon inserted into the cavity to flip chicken breast-side up, scatter 2nd set around chicken, and cook another 6 to 8 minutes.
- Remove from heat, lift chicken up again, spread out veggies, and place chicken on top of veggies. Cover with foil, then lid.
- Cook in oven until breast is 160 and thigh is 175. 60 to 100 minutes.
- Remove chicken from pot and tent with foil for 20 minutes.
- Strain and press juices into a fat separator and rest 5 minutes.
- Decant and keep sauce warm on low heat. Add ¼ t lemon juice per ¼ cup sauce.
- Note: I like to give everyone a plate and a bowl for this chicken. I then cut up my serving and toss it in the bowl mixed up with some sauce. The pan sauce is really the star of the show and it’s so thin then I find this the only way to really get it all over the chicken. I guess you could thicken it up but I like it thin and clean.
- Yield: 4 to 6
- Source: Modified from America’s Test Kitchen
