Cooking a whole chicken can intimidate some people, but my job is to make it super easy and fast! I recently heard this phrase, and it stuck with me: "Cook once, eat twice!" Turns out, I actually do that a lot without even realizing. But to coin the phrase kind of cemented it in my brain and made it more intentional. Cooking a whole chicken is the perfect way to "cook once & eat twice," maybe even three times!
A whole chicken can feed many. Since my family is only three people, we can get two and sometimes three meals out of it. In this recipe, you will learn a fast way to cook a whole chicken. Think of all the possibilities of what to do with leftover chicken. This week I cooked the chicken on Monday and shredded it the next day to heat up for my Taco Tuesday. I still had some left in the fridge on Wednesday, so I made a lovely chicken salad for me and a chicken sandwich for my son. Once you have the base of a protein already made, it saves you from having to cook some time-consuming protein every night. Shortcuts is where it is at!
A few years ago, my husband and I decided to go completely organic in the meat department. Living in California, this was easy to do, since organic markets were located on every corner. However, when we moved to Pennsylvania, it became a different story. Organic chicken in grocery stores was available but was few and far between. Not to mention, it was double the price of what we used to pay.
After much research, & the desire to keep our organic lifestyle going, we came across Butcher Box. It is free range organic chicken, delivered directly to you. It comes frozen and stays on dry ice all the way until it arrives on your doorstep. They have steaks, ground meat, and pork too! I can customize it every month or lock in the same things for each delivery. I sleep soundly knowing it is 100% organic chicken at a reasonable price to feed my entire family. Getting it delivered to my door is one of my seriously best-kept secrets as a Mommy Hack: DELIVER EVERYTHING!
If you want to SAVE $30 on Butcher Box, click this link to learn more: #ad
This recipe calls for a whole chicken. Always choose organic wherever possible. Your body will thank you & so will your growing family. No hormones, no problems! Watch how easy this recipe is:
1 Organic Whole Chicken
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Real Sea Salt
Ground Black Pepper
Garlic Powder
Paprika
Seriously, that is it!
1) Make sure you rinse your chicken & take out whatever is inside. Sometimes there is a small white bag with the organ meats. You do not want to cook without taking this bag out first!
2) Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. This is key, so the spices will stick to it.
3) Drizzle olive oil on both sides of the chicken & inside the cavity as well. Some people like to cut up an onion to put inside the cavity for flavor. Or a couple of celery stalks for moisture. It's totally up to you! I put nothing inside this time, but I did salt the cavity. Always salt the inside for flavor!
4) Sprinkle the trifecta of spices I use for every recipe: Salt, pepper, garlic on both sides of the chicken. In this recipe, I was in the mood for a little kick, so I added paprika. Use any spice you like! Thyme, oregano, whatever you feel. The fun thing about cooking is you can do whatever you want. Just don't overdo it and use the whole spice cabinet! Always use the trifecta + one other spice. Anything more would be overkill.
5) I am in love with my air fryer, and once I placed the chicken in there I could walk away. There is a setting on the air fryer for chicken and I doubled the time, since that setting is for chicken "pieces." Cook 30 minutes breast side down, then flip it and cook 30 more minutes. #ad
Yes, you could also use your Dutch Oven in your conventional oven for cooking, but it will take about 2-3 hours. I cooked my whole chicken in one hour! It came out crispy and delicious, yet super-duper moist.
DO NOT forget your digital thermometer! I insert it into the chicken breast or the meaty part of the leg to get a reading. This is by far the best way to see if I cooked it through & through. I also use it for steaks, pork roast, or whatever else I am cooking. I don't cook meat without it! #ad
If you try this recipe, let me know on social. I want to see pics & hear how it all went. This was mine. Extra crispy, yet juicy and delicious! Happy Cooking!
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Did you know I also wrote a book? Available on Amazon at https://amzn.to/3emeh7b
I have a podcast too, if you want to hear more about getting your family on a healthier path www.AMommyAndAMic.com or available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcast.
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