Because we’re not going to be afraid of purchasing or cooking a whole chicken anymore, k?
All jokes aside, buying a chicken as a whole bird is the cheapest way to buy it! Especially if you’re putting in the effort to make room in your budget for quality, pasture raised meat - why not use the whole thing and really get your money’s worth??
Sure, getting already cut and packaged chicken breasts or thighs is very convenient and takes all of the prep work out, but a. the price goes up significantly per pound, and b. you’re missing out on so many nutrient dense parts of the bird!
First let’s talk about cooking.
The fastest and easiest way to cook up your whole chicken is in an instant pot. You can cook the entire chicken on high pressure for 30 minutes! Or, if you don’t use an instant pot like me, you can roast your bird in the oven at 300 for about an hour and a half or until the inside reaches 165 degrees. (the longer it cooks, the more it’ll fall apart) We cook ours in a dutch oven but any covered oven safe dish works. Recipe below!
Now that the whole bird is seasoned and cooked, you have many options! You can pick all of the meat off the bones and save it for future meals, or you can serve the fully cooked bird to your family for dinner. After you’ve gotten all the meat off the chicken, save the carcass! Now we’re going to make nutritious bone broth.
The best part is if you roasted it in the oven, you don’t have to do anything except leave the carcass in the pot and add your ingredients! There are a few ways to make bone broth. You can add veggies and herbs if you want to, or you can leave them out. Both options work great. I personally only add some veggies if I have extras laying around. Sometimes I’ll add onion peels or ends, carrots broken in half, and I’ll throw in a garlic clove. But most of the time, I just add my water, salt, pepper and garlic powder. You only want enough water to reach the top of the bones. Add a splash of apple cider vinegar (this draws out the nutrients in the bones, therefore making it bone broth not chicken stock). You can cook your bone broth on a low temp in the oven over night like I do, or a crockpot, or wait and cook the next day. I roast mine on a lower temp of 200 degrees for 8-10 hours. I like to just do this over night while I’m sleeping so I can then deal with it in the morning when I get a chance.
By using your whole bird this way, you’re paying one set price for so much meat, plus about half a gallon of nutrient dense, quality bone broth! Way to kill two birds with one stone! ;)
I realize this may seem like a no brainer for some. But we have a lot of customers who aren’t sure how to cook a whole chicken this way, or are just unfamiliar with handling the whole bird.
So, I wanted to create a post showing you exactly how to cook a whole chicken so that those of you who have never done it this way, aren’t afraid of purchasing the bird in whole. Because it really is the most inexpensive way to buy.
Recipe for roasting a whole chicken:
Ingredients:
Whole bird
1 tsp garlic powder (or more to taste)
1 tsp onion powder
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
Squeeze of lemon wedge (optional)
Olive or avocado oil
Instructions:
Remove whole chicken from packaging and pat dry. Drizzle with olive oil and rub to coat chicken.
Sprinkle your seasonings on top of chicken and rub in.
Roast chicken in a covered dutch oven at 300 degrees for two hours or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
After finished, let sit for 5 minutes and drizzle with lemon juice.
Serve immediately.
*Save carcass afterward and add water to just above the bones, sprinkle of garlic powder, onion powder, or leftover veggie scraps and splash of apple cider vinegar. Put back in oven for 8-10 hours at 175-200 degrees. Strain and store bone broth.
