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Roast Chicken

With a variety of stuffings

Soak a clay pot (with lid) for 15-20 minutes in cool water. While you wait, prepare the stuffing.

Stuffing Type 1 (Bread): Chop the onion and put the pieces in a large microwave-safe bowl with the butter. Melt the butter and pre-cook the onions on low while you slice the slices of bread into squares roughly 1" across. When the onions are sufficiently done (and have started to ooze juices into the butter), add the bread and whatever seasonings you like (generally seasonings similar to those you plan to use on the outside of the chicken are good).

If you choose an Extras option, add whatever bits and pieces you like. Stuff the chicken and sew it shut, laying the closed chicken in the clay pot.. (Since I can never find my kitchen needle and thread, I just use partially straightened paper clips to hold it shut. Poke one end of the paper clip through the chicken skin, weave it in and out until you have all the pieces you want next to each other, and push them through to the coiled end of the paper clip. Three paper clips is usually sufficient.)

[Add video or picture showing how to close up a stuffed chicken with paper clips.]

Stuffing Type 2: Chop the onion into large cubes Put the onion pieces and whole mushrooms into the chicken cavity, allowing them to spill out as you lay the bird in the clay pot. This is also good with chunks of sweet potato or whatever other vegetables you like.

Stuffing Type 3: Insert the apple into the chicken.

Alternative to Stuffing: If stuffing feels like too much work and you have the room, you can put whole potatoes (or whole sweet potatoes) in the pot with the chicken to roast.

With the bird in the bottom half of the clay pot, drizzle oil over the top. Splash white wine over the oil, then sprinkle (or rub) dry seasonings on. Cover it up with the top of the clay pot and put in a cold oven. Set oven to 425°F and cook until done.

For an unstuffed 4 lb bird, this can take less than an hour. For a large bird with a bread-based stuffing, this can take upwards of 2 hours. The bird is done when its juices run clear (prick the thigh or lower breast deeply with a fork and watch the juices well up). This cooking method is very forgiving; 15 minutes or more in either direction won't make too much of a difference unless you're very particular. Half an hour or more too long just means that the bird will be difficult to carve because the meat will be falling off the bones. Chickens cooked with this method are almost never dry.

Chicken Roasted in a Clay Pot

If you don't have a clay pot, roast the chicken in a 8x8 or 9x13 pan at 325°F, basting every 20-30 minutes. This takes 2.5-3.5 hours for 2-4lb chickens. The bird is done when its juices run clear (prick the thigh or lower breast deeply with a fork and watch the juices well up).

Images provided under CC-BY 4.0. Please credit Redfield Recipes.