I’ll never forget the first time I actually made a Whole Roasted Chicken! It was a proud moment, I’m not going to lie. It wasn’t dried out, the skin was crispy, the meat was moist — it was perfection on a plate!
I don’t know why, but the thought of making a whole chicken or a great big turkey puts me into a major panic. So every now and then when I’m feeling up for the challenge, I get myself in the kitchen and I show that chicken who’s boss!
The more and more I challenge myself with these little birdies, the better and better they get. After a while my confidence builds and it turns out amazing! Just watch Ina Garten. She’s my inspiration when it comes to chicken!
Just in case you’re wondering, I still haven’t mastered the art of meal prepping. The struggle is real, y’all. But I will say that this week I actually made my life a little bit easier and when I made this Whole Roasted Chicken.
We got two good meals and dinner was on the table in under 30 minutes! That’s a mom win!
I roasted this chicken and once it had cooled for a bit I de-boned it and took off all the skin. Then shredded all of that perfectly cooked meat and divided it into two tupperware bowls.
When it was time for dinner — my meat was ready!
Obviously, with chicken the sky is the limit on all the dinners you can make with your shredded meat. One night I made a quick barbeque sauce, heated the chicken up in a skillet, and voila!
Barbeque chicken was made in a matter of minutes. The next night, we had chicken enchiladas!
Now, in order to be able to use this whole roasted chicken and actually get 2 – 3 meals from it, the only seasoning I used was salt and pepper. If you want to control your salt intake, simply roast your chicken without any seasoning.
My Southern Secret
My secret to roasting a whole chicken and hoping it stays moist is BUTTER. Lots of butter. My chicken was about two pounds, so a half stick of softened butter was the perfect amount to rub all over my chicken.
Carefully pull the skin up and rub the inside of the meat with the butter. It helps keep the meat moist and the skin gets perfectly crisp. Add whatever seasonings you love most.
Who needs a quick chicken dinner?! Grab your meat thermometer and let’s cook!
Bon Appetit!
-Whitney
- 1 two to three pound chicken
- 1/2 - 1 stick softened butter
- salt and pepper
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
- Remove the giblets and anything else down in the cavity of the chicken.
- Wash the chicken and pat completely dry.
- Rub the chicken down with the softened butter. Carefully pull the skin up and rub the butter in between the meat and skin.
- Once the chicken is coated in the softened butter, sprinkle salt and pepper all over the chicken.
- Place your chicken in a roasting pan. If you want to, you can fill the cavity of the chicken with onions, garlic, carrots, and celery for extra flavor.
- Roast the chicken for 20 minutes.
- Then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue roasting for another 35 - 40 minutes; or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees.
- Let the chicken rest for 10 - 15 minutes before shredding or carving.
- Use immediately or refrigerate for later use.
- I like to baste my chicken every 10-15 minutes so it stays nice and moist.