Apple & Herb Roast Chicken

I hope you guys aren’t sick of squash or apple-spiced stuff yet. Because 1) those are two of the BEST parts of fall and 2) I have more recipes right up that alley coming at you soon. Get. excited.

This recipe is a re-make of one of my all-time favorite recipes on the blog: Perfect Fall Roast Chicken. I can’t believe it was only a year ago and the picture for that recipes looks a little…questionable. Like, um, not the most appetizing thing. But hey, the chicken is delicious. Promise. And this time, the picture is SO. MUCH. BETTER. (don’t you agree??)And the chicken is even more delicious.

It’s back!! the perfect roast chicken is back. I’ll skip the Harry Potter/voldemort references and quotes because I’m pretty sure I already overused that one in my Pulled Pork Stuffed Delicata Squash post from 2 weeks ago. Can you tell my brain is a constant flow of pop culture references/movie quotes? Sorry not sorry. Maybe yours is too and you just get me. It’s like I have ESPN or something. (Mean Girls, duh).

Ok, ok. About this chicken. I LOVE roast chicken. And I mean, who doesn’t? Besides vegetarians. Ugh. We can’t be friends. Just kidding, my best friend is a veg and we get along juuust fine. Mostly because she eats my share of all of the gluten and dairy things and I eat all her meat. She’s the peanut butter to my jelly and she gets all my random disney/mean girls/harry potter quotes INSTANTLY. We definitely have ESPN or something. It’s ridikulus.

BUT DANA TELL ME ABOUT THIS DAMN CHICKEN ALREADY. Why is it so perfect? Well. It’s super, super easy to make. No fuss required. Chop some stuff up, stick it in the chicken, season the whole thing with salt (and pepper if you want). Stick some skewers in it so it cooks evenly. Pop it in the oven and let it GO. (Sidenote: I can’t ever say that phrase without thinking of Frozen. And now that song will probably be stuck in your head all day. Oops.) Then you’re good and golden. Literally. Wait until you see and taste the crispy skin on this bird. And those pan juices? Roast some vegetables and toss them in with the chicken before you serve it. Trust me on this one.

Apple & Herb Roast Chicken

 

Print

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

60 mins

Total time

1 hour 10 mins

 

Dana: Real Food with Dana

Serves: 6-8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 whole roasting chicken, 3-4 lbs
• 1 small apple, cored and diced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 Tbsp poultry seasoning (or chopped herbs from 2 sages leaves, 1 sprig thyme and rosemary)
• 1 tsp ghee or coconut oil
• 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp coarse sea salt (I like using applewood smoked salt)
• ½ tsp pepper (AIP: omit)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450F.
2. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels, inside and out. The drier it is before you cook it, the more crispy skin you’ll have at the end!
3. Mix the diced apple, onion, and herb blend with 1 tsp coarse sea salt and ½ tsp pepper in a small mixing bowl. Stuff as much of it as you can inside the chicken.
4. Use 4 little metal skewers (or twine) to pin the legs and wings as close to the bird’s body as possible, so it stays juicy, cooks evenly, and the stuffing doesn’t fall out: close the opening at the back, pin the wings down to the breast by sticking a skewer through each of them to the center of the bird. Do the same with the thighs.
5. Season all sides of the chicken with 1 Tbsp salt and about ½ tsp pepper by sprinkling it from 6 inches above the bird to ensure an even coating. This will ensure it has an even coating. Try not to get the salt all over your counter.
6. Pat down the salt and pepper with your hand so it sticks to the chicken skin.
7. Prepare a large cast-iron skillet or roasting pan by smearing 1 tsp cooking fat on the bottom. This will ensure the bird doesn’t stick to your pan.
8. Place any extra apple-onion stuffing you had in the pan to create a small bed for the chicken.
9. Place the chicken in the pan breast side DOWN, backbone UP. Trust me on this one. The juices from the backbone will run down to the rest of the meat and make sure you don’t end up with dry, tasteless, overcooked chicken breast.
10. Pop your bird in the oven once it’s preheated. Roast it and leave it ALONE for about 50-60 minutes, until a meat thermometer stuck in the hip joint of the bird registers 165 degrees F.
11. Take the bird out of the oven and baste it with a some of the pan juices. Move it to a cutting board and let it rest under some tinfoil for 20 minutes before you cut into it. Then all your delicious juices (read: flavor) won’t run out!

3.4.3176