How to Bake A Chicken - Lone Star Dutch Oven Society

For those of you who have not yet tried to bake a whole chicken in a Dutch oven, this article is for you. I have included photos of the entire process to help you along. Please follow normal sanitary procedures when handling or cutting up raw chicken. Always wash your hands with hot soapy water after handling raw chicken or the wrapping it came in. Do not forget to thoroughly wash the knives, scissors, and cutting boards also. These directions are for a regular depth oven. Items you will need:

A regular depth seasoned 12-inch Dutch oven

A round cake cooling rack (that fits in the oven) that can be bought at any kitchen supply store

A little aluminum foil

A 3 to 4 pound whole chicken and the seasonings you like for it.

Rinse off the chicken thoroughly with cold water and pat it dry with paper towels. A four pound roasting hen will not go into a regular 12-inch oven (on a rack) without the breast bone touching the lid. Here is how to solve that. Using a pair of kitchen shears (or clean tin snips, or a heavy knife) cut the backbone out of the chicken.

Trim off any excess fat. If you want to avoid a clean-up mess, line the oiled Dutch oven with aluminum foil and spray it with Pam. (There is a negative side to the aluminum foil liner. The chicken will not brown on its sides because the foil acts like a shield.) Place the round cake cooling rack in the oven and spray it with Pam too.

Butterfly the chicken by forcing it to open up to flat skin side up.

You may have to break a small bone near the neck on each side (wishbone) or you can cut it with scissors. Pat the chicken dry again, season the meat side to taste, and place it skin side up on top of the cake rack in the Dutch oven.

Spray the chicken lightly with Pam, or pat it all over with a paper towel wet with oil. Then add seasoning to the skin side of the chicken. It is the oil that causes the chicken to brown properly. Place the oven over 1 ring of fresh charcoal and put 2 rings on the lid. Allow the chicken to cook undisturbed for about 30 minutes. Check that there is some juice in the bottom of the pot, and if there is not, add a little hot water. Continue cooking for another half-hour to 45 minutes, or until the juices at the leg (hip) joint run clear when pierced with a knife. You can cook the chicken up to 90 minutes without drying it out. HERE IS THE TRICK. If the chicken starts getting too brown on top, cover very loosely with a piece of aluminum foil to stop the browning (remember foil will prevent burning AND browning). If it is not brown enough near the end, add a lot of charcoal to the lid to force browning. Be careful if you do this, as the chicken will brown quickly with a full spread on top of the lid.

Directions for baking a whole chicken in a deep Dutch oven. Follow all the instructions above, except do not cut out the backbone nor butterfly the chicken. Tie it up (after washing) like a turkey. You can cook a 5 to 8 pound chicken in a 12 Deep oven, and a small turkey in a 14-deep. Do not worry if some of the bird touches the sides of the oven. The top of the breast will sit up near the lid in the deep oven, and the browning rate of this top-most part can be controlled with a small piece of aluminum foil over the breast after browning starts.

ANOTHER TRICK. If the top of the chicken is browning OK but the sides of it are still white, put a second ring of charcoal just outside the edge of the pot bottom.

This will heat up the side walls of the oven and help brown the entire chicken. Keeping the oven out of the wind also helps a lot. For a pretty display, cool the lid and line it with lettuce. Put the bird on the lettuce and add some fruit like grapes, strawberries and spiced peaches for color (this one has oranges and tangerines sliced up).

This method of cooking chicken produces the juiciest chicken and turkey you will ever taste. Try it. Photo below shows what is left of a five pound roaster after dinner for three. Duane.

Created May, 1999

Updated Oct, 2004

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