Roast Whole Chicken

Making a roast whole chicken using natural and fresh ingredients.

This recipe for a roast whole chicken is perfect for a nourishing, healthFULL meal, or making to meal prep several other dishes for the week ahead. Either way, roasting a whole chicken is an essential skill for a nourishing home cook to master.

Why should I Roast a Whole Chicken?

If you roast a whole chicken for the week you open multiple doorways for easy meals for the week. The leftover chicken can be shredded for tacos, soup, chicken salad, etc. and the carcass can be saved to make nourishing bone broth. Store bought rotisserie chickens are so convenient and delicious, but the reality is that we don’t know much about the ingredients or additives contained in the these store-bought rotisserie chickens. This recipe for a roast whole chicken still brings the flavor and juiciness that the store-bought rotisserie chickens provide, but with nourishing ingredients that are the best for you.

Methods for Roast Whole Chicken

Roasting a whole chicken does require a little more attention to your cooking method because you are cooking the dark and white meat at the same temperature and for the same amount of time. The white meat has a tendency to dry out quicker than the dark meat. I recommend using a roasting pan or dutch oven that has a lid that can fit the whole chicken. You can also use a pan and cover with aluminum foil if that’s what you have. This will keep the liquid circulating throughout baking.

Layer the bottom of the roasting pan with onions and celery first when you roast a whole chicken.
Start off my patting dry the inside and outside of the chicken with a paper towel. Then liberally season the inside of the cavity with salt and pepper. If the neck, gizzards, heart, etc. are included in the cavity of the bird, remove and set aside or discard. You can consider using some of these parts for gravy or in making broth.
Stuff the carcass with onion, salt, pepper and fresh herbs.
Stuff the carcass with half an onion (quartered), garlic cloves, and fresh herbs. This helps retaining moisture in the interior of the chicken. If you skipping the stuffing it will lose moisture from the inside and dry out the breast meat.
Truss the whole chicken, tying the legs together with twine to keep the chicken moist during baking.
Truss the chicken, meaning, tie the legs together with baker’s twine. Then coat the exterior of the chicken in oil, season liberally with salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning.
Liberally apply poultry seasoning, salt and pepper to the exterior prior to baking.
Now the chicken is ready to bake. The chicken should be sitting on a bed of vegetables to keep it from burning. Cover with a lid initially when roasting.
The roast whole chicken with crispy chicken and moist meat.
Remove the roasting pan lid and broil for the last 3-5 minutes to crisp up the skin.
This roast whole chicken recipe cooks the dark and white meat to perfection.
You can serve the chicken as is for dinner. Both the dark and white meat will be perfectly moist.
  • Preparation Time
    10 minutes
  • Cooking Time
    60-75 minutes
  • Serves
    4 adults
  • Difficulty
    Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 1 antibiotic-free, organic Whole Chicken, approx. 4-6 pounds
  • 1 onion, quartered
  • 4 sticks of celery in 4 inch pieces
  • 5 tbsp Avocado oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2 tsp natural poultry seasoning that doesn’t include artificial additives1
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • Fresh herbs or your choice, I recommend: 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, 2 sprigs of fresh thyme, 2 sprigs of fresh sage

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 450F.
  2. Remove the chicken necks, gizzards, heart, etc if included in the cavity of the chicken and set aside or discard. Dry the whole chicken by patting the interior and exterior of the chicken with paper towels.
  3. Coat the bottom of your roasting pan with about 1 tbsp of oil. Create a bed2 for the chicken with celery and half of the onion quarters in the bottom of the pan.
  4. Liberally season in the interior of the bird with salt and pepper, then stuff the bird with garlic cloves, herbs and the other half of the quartered onion.
  5. Truss the chicken by tying the legs of the chicken together so that they are overlapping.
  6. Coat the exterior of the chicken in the remainder of the oil, then liberally season with salt and pepper and poultry seasoning.
  7. Cover the pan with lid or aluminum foil. Reduce the oven temperature to 375F and place pan in the center of the oven.
  8. Bake covered for 45 to 60 minutes, about 10-15 minutes per pound. Then check the internal temperature in thickest part of the meat. When the temperature reaches the 150s, remove the lid and allow to bake uncovered for the last 10-15 more minutes or until it reaches 165F. If desired, turn the oven to broil for the last 3-5 minutes to crisp up the skin.
  9. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
  1. Poultry seasoning blends typically include: dried sage, thyme, marjoram, pepper, and rosemary so you can make your own seasoning blend if desired. Seasoning packets that contain preservatives or artificial additives are not recommended for this dish. ↩︎
  2. If desired you can use chunks of carrots, potatoes, or quartered lemons to supplement to round out this meal, but it is not necessary for flavor. ↩︎
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