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roast chicken in a dutch oven served on a vintage plate with chili and potatoes.
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5 from 4 votes

Dutch Oven Roasted Chicken

Crispy roasted chicken cooked in a Dutch oven—a delicious one-pot meal with potatoes, onions, and gravy.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 30 minutes
Course: Poultry
Cuisine: American
Servings: 4
Calories: 795kcal
Author: Adina

Equipment

  • Dutch oven

Ingredients

  • 1 whole chicken 3 ½ – 4 ½ lbs/ 1.7 - 2 kg (Note 1,2)
  • 1.5 lb potatoes 700 g
  • 2 medium onions
  • ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt or Kosher
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 cup white wine

Butter:

  • 1 stick unsalted butter 7 tablespoons/ 100 g
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon dried thyme
  • ½ teaspoon rosemary
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

Vegetables:

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit/ 190 degrees Celsius.
  • Potatoes: Wash and chop the potatoes into bite-sized (smallish) cubes. You can peel them or leave them unpeeled.
  • Onions: Peel and slice thickly. Take the layers apart.
  • Pot: Place potatoes and onions in it. Add salt, pepper, and dried herbs, toss well. Pour in wine. Do it from the side so that you don't wash away the spices.

Butter mixture:

  • Mix soft butter, dried herbs, salt, pepper, onion, and garlic powder in a small bowl. Set aside.

Chicken:

  • Pat dry with paper towels. Season the cavity generously with salt and pepper. Stuff with lemon or onion or herbs if desired.
  • Get some butter under the breast skin. First, loosen the breast skin gently with your hands. Then, use your fingers or a small spoon to spread the soft butter underneath the skin.
    Rub the outside of the bird with the remaining butter—no need to rub the underside, just the breasts, legs, and wings.
  • Tie the legs of the bird with kitchen string. Place on top of the vegetables, breast side up, and cover with the lid

Roast

  • Roast for 1 hour with the lid on.
  • Remove the lid. Roast for about 30 minutes, depending on the size of the bird until it's cooked through.
  • Check the internal temperature with a meat thermometer; it should be 75 degrees Celsius/ 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Broil, optional: The chicken should be deeply golden-brown by now. If it's not, you can broil the chicken for 2-3 minutes. Keep an eye on it all the time to ensure that the skin doesn't burn.
  • Rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes before carving (Note 3).
  • Serve with potatoes and gravy (Note 4).

Notes

  1. If the chicken is frozen, defrost in the refrigerator, it might take up to 36 hours. Remove the bag with the neck and the giblets. Bring the chicken to room temperature before roasting, about 30 minutes.
  2. If desired, you can stuff the chicken with one halved lemon or onion and/or some fresh herbs like parsley, thyme, or rosemary.
  3. See blog post for instructions on how to carve the chicken.
  4. I never thicken the gravy, but you can thicken it with a bit of cornstarch if you like.

Nutrition

Calories: 795kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 40g | Fat: 49g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 17g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 197mg | Sodium: 918mg | Potassium: 1219mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 904IU | Vitamin C: 41mg | Calcium: 72mg | Iron: 4mg