Cast Iron Baked Chicken

Shannon Vavich
My simplest, easiest and most full-proof chicken recipe. The cast iron pot (dutch oven) turns into a "super oven" to seal in juices and cook the chicken quickly and efficiently.

The cast iron is the secret to creating an incredibly sumptuous and moist chicken, as the cast iron becomes a “super oven” that charges heat and flavor into the meat and seals the moisture in the chicken.

A perfect recipe for your very first baked whole chicken, or for a seasoned cook to remember the basics and why you fell in love with cooking in the first place.

This is an excellent recipe for any day – your busiest days or a lazy day. You can serve this baked chicken as is for a fabulous dinner, or you can use it as a “master recipe” to make many dishes like soups, stews, enchiladas, pastas, lo-mein, chicken salad, wraps, tacos, risotto and more.

Cast Iron Baked Chicken

Shannon Vavich
My simplest, easiest and most full-proof chicken recipe. The cast iron pot (dutch oven) turns into a "super oven" to seal in juices and cook the chicken quickly and efficiently.
Servings 0

Ingredients
  

  • 1 whole chicken
  • 1 onion, peeled and quartered
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper black or white – I prefer white

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees, F. Place chicken in a 5-7 quart cast iron dutch oven. Stuff onion quarters into the chicken cavity. Pour olive oil over chicken. Dust chicken with salt and pepper. Cover the dutch oven with the lid.
  • Bake for 1 1/2 hours at 400 degrees. After 1 1/2 hours, remove the top of the pot and bake for 10-15 minutes to brown the skin. Remove pot from oven (be careful, it's VERY hot) and place on heat safe trivet or wooden cutting board and let it cool.
  • Serve as is for an easy dinner, accompanied with a bagged salad and French bread from the store, or separate the meat from the bones, store and use in any fashion you'd like.

Video

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!