Confession time, I recorded a 30 minute video making this with both kids (partally) 2 nights ago. I miss videos. I really do but they seem so much more difficult with 2 children. I'm also having technical difficulties with my video recording and audio syncing making it VERY time consuming to edit.

I'm seriously thinking about hiring a video guy and going more pro with them but I'm not sure I want to go in that direction.

Anyway, enough shop talk I MUST share this chicken idea with you!

I'm trying to use more whole chicken instead of boneless skinless chicken breasts. They are cheaper, tastier and multi-meal generating. The last one I roasted came out amazing! After feeding it to the family for dinner I had enough leftover to make sandwiches the next day and the broth I made from the bones was phenomenal. Still have bags of it in the freezer!

I'm going to share how I've made this with variations so you can use what you have on hand or customize it for your family's tastes. Unfortunately I didn't take a lot of pictures because I thought I'd have a corresponding video. *sigh*

Ingredients

1 4-5 pound whole chicken
6-8 slices of ginger root about ¼ inch thick
Small Orange quartered
Soy Sauce for splashing
Non-stick cooking spray
Kosher salt
Your Favorite Veggies for roasting (more later)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Spray a large roasting pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Remove the giblets from the chicken and save if you plan on making stock.

Place the chicken in the roasting pan breast side up. Run your fingers under the layer of fat on top of the breasts to separate. Slide in 3-4 slices of ginger under the skin, scattered. Squeeze the cut oranges over the chicken letting the juice run a little under the skin. Place the orange cuts in chickens body cavity (where the stuffing would go.)

Arrange your cut root veggies around the chicken in the roasting pan. Carrots and parsnips are my favorite combo, but last time I used carrots and russet potatoes and they came out amazing. You could also add onions, turnips, beets, whole Brussels sprouts, or sweet potatoes. You can also use broccoli, zucchini, butternut squash, cauliflower, peppers, ect but you have to add them mid-way through cooking as they take less time to roast.

Once the vegetables are in, splash the chicken with a little soy sauce and sprinkle the veggies with a little kosher salt.

Put everything in the oven, close the door, set a timer for 25 minutes and forget about it.

At the 25 minute mark remove the pan, toss the vegetables around a little. By this time some of the chicken fat should have dripped into the pan. This is why I don't add any olive oil or butter. Why introduce more fat when the chicken will give us all we need PLUS amazing flavor.

At this point add any quicker cooking vegetables and add a bit more soy sauce to the chicken and a little to the veggies. The last time I made it I used carrots and potatoes which I put in the pan from the start. Then at the 25 minute mark I added a bag of frozen broccoli spears.

Put the roasting pan back in the oven and set the timer for 30 more minutes. I've experimented with the time and found 55 minutes to be pretty ideal but times my vary based on your oven, chicken size and how crowded the pan is. Your temperature reading in the leg or thigh should be 165.

Let it rest for at least 5 minute. It's about all I can wait after pulling a bird like this out of the oven.

That's a frame from the video that didn't happen. 🙁

To serve remove the ginger from under the skin and either slice the breast or cut the bird into halves and then quarters. My boys like to eat the legs. I also give a whole breast to The Husband and then slice the other for the boys and I.

After dinner I remove any large areas of meat, like the thighs, and then boil the bones with onion, garlic, celery, carrots, and herbs in a large pot with just enough water to cover.

That's about it. MAN I wish I had more pictures. Here's another frame from te video where I was showing a slice of the breast...

Doesn't it look juicy?!

I've been wanting to share this idea for weeks now and I needed to get it out of my head. I hope to do more whole chicken posts. I'm starting to get over my fear of them and I'm taking you along for the ride. 🙂

P.S. The only other way I've made whole chicken is with a beer can. Click here for that video.

No nutritional info on this one. There are too many variables.

📖 Recipe