Chicken Roasted in a Pot: Recipe

Last month it seemed everyone was roasting a chicken. Perhaps the chill in the air inspired a desire for something comforting and familiar. I couldn't watch a cooking show on television, read a newspaper online or food magazine without staring at yet another roast chicken. And blogs! It seems just about every food blogger was roasting chicken. I think it was the steady stream of breathtaking photos that finally got to me.

This is a "poulet en cocotte" recipe that I modified. I saw it on a certain television program and decided I would make it a little differently. It was moist but didn't yield crispy skin. Fresh out of the oven, I particularly enjoy roast chicken with roasted root vegetables or a big green salad and boiled potatoes all slathered with vinaigrette. The next day I shred the leftover chicken and use it in something else like enchiladas, another excellent comfort food.

The liquid from the chicken was very rich and flavorful and I had so much of it leftover, I used it to make grits. Let me tell you, the next time you have any kind of au jus or gravy, use it as part of the cooking liquid in grits and stir in some cheese after taking the pot off the stove. This makes the most amazingly delicious side dish or breakfast. It's perfect on cold mornings when you want something as warm and filling as hot cereal but prefer savory rather than sweet flavors. Honestly, I would make this chicken again just so I had the juice to make grits!

French Style Chicken Roasted in a Pot

4 1/2 to 5 pound roasting chicken
3 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon butter
1 small onion, roughly chopped
1 small stalk celery, roughly chopped
1 small carrot, roughly chopped
5 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Pat chicken dry and season with salt. Melt butter in large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add chicken breast-side down. Cook until breast is darkly browned, about 8 minutes. Using a wooden spoon or tongs inserted into cavity of bird, flip chicken and add the vegetables, continue cooking another 6 minutes. Remove Dutch oven from heat; place large sheet of foil over pot and cover tightly with lid. Transfer pot to oven and cook until thermometer registers 160 degrees when inserted in thickest part of breast and 175 degrees in thickest part of thigh, this will take somewhere around an hour and 20 minutes.

Transfer chicken to carving board, tent with foil, and rest a full 20 minutes. Carve chicken, serve with juices from the pot (and carving of the bird).

Enjoy!

Here are just a sampling of January 2009, roast chicken posts. Try visiting a few and see if you don't find yourself planning a chicken dinner...

Last Night's Dinner Roast Chicken 3 Ways

Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewy blog's Roast Chicken with Pancetta & Olives

For The Love of Cooking Lemon, Garlic & Basil Slow Roasted Chicken

Whisk blog's Poulet en Cocotte Grand Mere

Thursday Night Smackdown Chicken with 50 Cloves of Garlic

Serious Eats Paprika Roast Chicken