This Dutch Oven Roast Chicken recipe is a delicious and comforting dish that requires minimal preparation with just a handful of ingredients. It is a very simple yet perfect one-pot dish whether you serve it as a weekday meal or a weekend roast dinner.
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Dutch oven retains and evenly distributes the heat so it cuts down on the roasting time while keeping the chicken moist and flavourful. It is one of my favourite kitchen tools and I use it for making hearty stews like Kuru Fasulye and Turkish Lamb Stew with Chickpeas or warming soups like Autumn Squash Soup and Ezo Gelin Corba. I even bake sourdough bread in my Dutch oven, it is so versatile!
If you don't have a Dutch oven, you can make this delicious chicken dish on a baking tray or an oven-safe dish. Place the chicken on top of the carrots and garlic so that the drippings from the chicken create flavourful vegetables!
If you like roast chicken and want something different for your festive dinner, check my Rice Stuffed Chicken recipe which is perfect for smaller parties and gatherings.
Why This Recipe Works?
- You need only a few ingredients for this simple roast chicken dish.
- Roasting the chicken in a Dutch oven makes it perfectly crispy on the outside and juicy inside.
- It is versatile, therefore you can use any vegetables you like to eat with your roast chicken.
- One pot dish with a minimum washing up.
- Simple yet super delicious and impressive enough to serve for your dinner guests.
Ingredients and Substitutes
- Chicken - A young, free-range or Corn fed chicken that weighs between 1.5 kg and 2 kg is ideal for roasting. They are extremely flavourful and cook quickly. Always check the best-by date before buying to ensure the freshness of the bird.
- Garlic - Use fresh garlic without peeling. They will release enough flavour for both vegetables and the chicken. I keep the whole roasted garlic to use later for flavouring other dishes.
- Thyme - This aromatic herb goes great with roast chicken. You can replace it with oregano or rosemary.
- Olive Oil - Helps the chicken skin crisp and brown easily. You can replace it with butter or vegetable oil.
- Carrots - They are the perfect sides for roast chicken. You can use other vegetables such as cauliflower, parsnip, courgettes, swede, sweet potatoes, butternut squash and potatoes.
- Salt - Use a generous amount of salt for chicken, especially for the cavity and the skin. Salt helps brown the skin and make it crispy.
- Freshly ground black pepper - It has a much better aroma and texture compared to powder versions.
Step by Step Instructions
Making this Dutch oven roast chicken is surprisingly easy and straightforward. Here are a few simple steps that you need to follow:
- Preheat the oven to 180° C and then pat dry the chicken with a kitchen towel. Dry skin is the guarantee to a crispy chicken. Prepare the carrots or any other vegetables that you want to cook underneath the chicken. Peel and then cut them in chunks if you are using large carrots. I sometimes buy baby carrots of different colours and leave them whole or just cut them in halves, depending on the size. Place the garlic, carrots and thyme on the bottom of your dutch oven.
- Massage the chicken all over with olive oil, and then season the cavity and skin with salt & pepper. Place the chicken on top of the carrots, in the middle of the dutch oven.
- Cook the chicken in preheated oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Remove the chicken from the oven and then rest it for a minimum of 20 minutes, covered with tin foil or a lid. If you want to crisp the carrots a bit more, place them back in the oven while the chicken is roasting.
The best way to check if the chicken is cooked is to use a meat thermometer. Simply insert it into the thickest part of the thigh without touching the bone. The inside temperature of the chicken should be a minimum of 74° C (165° F). If you don't have a meat thermometer, use a toothpick to check if the chicken is cooked. Pierce it into the thickest part of the chicken and remove the toothpick. If the juice comes out pink, it is not cooked (contains blood. If the juice comes clear, it is cooked.
When the chicken is cooked, you should let it rest for at least 20 minutes before carving. If you cut it immediately after cooking, all the juices will flood out and you will end up with dry and tasteless meat. Resting the chicken helps the juices redistribute themselves back through the meat, seal in the moisture and increase the flavour.
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Top Tip From the Chef
Take the chicken out of the fridge half an hour before roasting to bring it to room temperature. This will allow the chicken to cook evenly inside and outside. A cold chicken's outside is going to get dried out by the time the inside is cooked fully.
I hope you enjoy the process of making this crispy outside, juicy inside the whole roast chicken as much as you enjoy eating it! 🙂
Bon appétit! / Afiyet Olsun!
Dutch Oven Roast Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken (approximately 1 ½ kg)
- 400 g carrots
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 5-6 sprigs thyme
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180° C and pat dry the chicken with a kitchen towel.
- Peel and cut your carrots in chunks.
- Place the garlic, carrots and thyme on the bottom of your dutch oven.
- Brush the chicken all over with olive oil and season the cavity and skin with salt and pepper.
- Place the chicken on top of the carrots, in the middle of the dutch oven.
- Cook the chicken in preheated oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes.
- Remove the dutch oven from the oven and rest the chicken for a minimum of 20 minutes covered with tin foil or a lid.
- If you want to crisp the carrots a bit more, place them back in the oven while the chicken is roasting.
Nutrition
FOOD SAFETY
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Don’t leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
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Did you make this recipe?
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Fiona
This looks amazing, I am looking forward to try this recipe for Sunday roast.