Free-use image copyright Goumbik
Hello guests! Ornery Owl, back once again with a simple Sunday Dinner plus a kitchen staple that you'll want to keep on hand. Today I present to you a supremely simple slow-roasted chicken recipe that leaves you plenty of time to do other things while it cooks, and a follow-up slow-cooked stock to keep your other savory recipes simple and tasty.
This post contains affiliate links. If readers make a purchase through these links, I will receive a small commission and you will receive a useful product.
That being said, let's do this!
I like to roast the chicken in my Dutch oven, but if you don't have a Dutch oven, a roasting pan covered in aluminum foil will work fine.
This five-quart Dutch oven from Lodge is similar to my trusty black cast iron Dutch oven by Amazon Basics, which they no longer carry. I saw some gorgeous enameled Dutch ovens while searching for a good one to feature, but I don't recommend an enameled pot. The enamel has a tendency to chip. Go for the tried and true with simple black cast iron for the best results.
If you would prefer a roasting pan, this nonstick pan from Farberware is highly rated and competitively priced. Personally, since I acquired my Dutch oven, I haven't used my roasting pan once. Don't forget Reynold's Wrap for lining and covering the pan!
https://amzn.to/2CgAJ1Q
Now that we've discussed the necessary cookware, we're on to the beautifully simple recipe.
You will need one small chicken. I highly recommend finding a trustworthy local butcher. I have found that the meat really isn't any more expensive than what I was purchasing from the grocery store, and the quality is worlds better. I go to Friendly Nick's Butcher in Fort Collins (
http://fnbutcher.com) and if you are in the Northern Colorado or Southern Wyoming areas, you should try them too.
Preheat your oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit (121 degrees Celsius). In the meantime, place the Dutch oven on a burner set to medium heat. (I set mine at 7, but stoves vary.)
I used bacon grease in the bottom of my Dutch oven, but if you don't have any bacon grease, it's fine to use cooking oil, shortening, or melted butter. I set the chicken on the bacon grease while cutting the vegetables. This gives the skin a chance to become crispy on the bottom of the chicken.
I love to roast some potatoes along with the chicken but, sadly, I was out of potatoes and I live 50 miles from the nearest city. I peeled four carrots and chopped them into thirds, chopped four celery stalks into thirds, and chopped a big onion into eighths, and placed these in the pot with the chicken.
I sprinkled the chicken liberally with my favorite seasoning mix. I use The Blend from Kinder's Seasonings, but you can use any seasoning blend that you have on hand. If you have a Costco membership, I recommend picking up The Blend there for the best price, but you can pick up two 10 ounce bottles for $19.87 from Amazon through the following link.
https://amzn.to/2DKFtgC
I then added my super-secret, highly classified, and very costly ingredient, known only to elite chefs until this moment.
Nah, just fooling. I poured half a bottle of Kraft Balsamic Vinaigrette over the chicken. You can pick up 6 bottles for $27.99 (approximately $4.66 per bottle) from Amazon through the following link.
https://amzn.to/3fMuaBz This isn't a bad price, but you might be able to get it cheaper at the grocery store.
Once you have added the super-secret ingredient, you can transfer your Dutch oven to the preheated 250-degree oven and wait 4-5 hours while the magic happens. I found that 4 hours was adequate.
Before serving, let the chicken rest for 15 minutes, leaving the lid on the Dutch oven.
The meat will be savory, fall-off-the-bone good. I almost didn't need my lovely new Jean-Patrique carving knife set!
So far, the only review of this product is mine. I gave it five stars and said this:
I just received mine. It is not only beautiful to look at, it is functional and practical. It is easy to hold a roast chicken in place while carving the meat. This set is an affordably priced conversation starter that you will enjoy having in your collection.
Now that you have enjoyed your dinner, it's time to remove the remaining meat from the chicken. The bones were already starting to fall apart, so I didn't need any extra cooking time to loosen the meat from the bones. I removed the vegetables and added four new carrots and four stalks of celery, both cut into thirds. I didn't add new onion, but you can if you want to. I added 1/3 cup of Kirkland Minced Garlic. If you have a Costco membership, it's cheaper to buy it from Costco, but you can also get it through the following link at $12.99 for a 27-ounce jar.
https://amzn.to/33V26dl
I added 8 cups of water to the Dutch oven and placed it in a 200-degree Fahrenheit oven for 8 hours. I let the stock rest on the stove and then poured it through a colander into a plastic bowl with a spout. I like to store my stock in the freezer in 1/2 cup size containers. To easily remove the stock from the container, I just run hot water over the outside of the container and the stock pops right out.
I find that a dozen of these babies work well for my purposes. Any overflow goes into a glass jar and is kept in the refrigerator to be used first.
Now you know how to get the most out of a roasting chicken with minimal effort. I'm not sure why Grammarly thinks my text sounds angry. I quite like getting a big bang for the minimal buck, and these recipes provide!
Now that the only tasks remaining from the rotten old mobile home involve paper and red tape, I should be sharing Sunday Dinner recipes more regularly. Keep visiting us at the Grover Hotel to see what's cookin'!
Your Pal in Culinary Creativity,
Ornery Owl
Chef Ornery
Free use image copyright Open Clipart Vectors on Pixabay
The Icky Sticky Nit-Picky Legalese If You Please (Or Don't Please)
Content copyright 2020 by Good Stuff from Grover
Reblogging is acceptable on platforms that allow it. LBRY’s reblog function is called repost, which makes things confusing since reposting is considered a no-no on most platforms. It’s fine to share the post using the repost function on LBRY. It is not okay to copy-paste the material into a new post.
Sharing a link to the post is acceptable.
Quoting portions of the post for educational or review purposes is acceptable if proper credit is given.
Cross-Posting to these locations:
Sharing with the Grammy's Grid blog hop and possibly others at a later date. I learned my lesson the hard way about trying to participate in too many blog hops and becoming overwhelmed.
Don't forget to enter the drawing to Win Free Vanilla plus approximately $100 worth of other good stuff from Watkins this month! Please follow the link below the banner. The Grover Hotel Gang thanks you!
