Juicy Whole Roasted Chicken & Red Potatoes -Whole30 Approved

I had a whole chicken just sitting in my freezer for the *longest* time. I figured I had better cook that baby up! So I slow roasted it in the oven over a four-hour period. It was so darn good! I immediately realized my mistake...I should have taken pictures!

This time...mind you, it's only been two days since I made the first roasted chicken, and today sent my fiance go get another whole chicken for me to roast for pictures....I took pictures! The chicken comes out so tender, it is already falling off the bone when you pull it out of the oven.

Don't you wish you could eat this right now?

Being on the Whole30 Lifestyle, I knew I couldn't add anything unapproved. And why would I want to? This is more than enough food for the two of us, and two growing boys.

Chicken in the Pot

Chicken immediately out of the oven

When I made my first roasted chicken this way, I was basically 'winging' it. (Get it? I crack myself up!) I knew I wanted potatoes, but I also needed a veggie too. So I cut up some new red and yellow potatoes, onions, carrots, and yes, even some apples, and tossed them in the bottom of the pot. Here I'm using a fabulous enameled cast iron dutch oven my mother bought me for my birthday last year. Then I set the chicken on top of the taters.

I needed some spice to this, so I added some dried rosemary (I dehydrate my own), ground sage, and tossed on some whole peppercorns.

I put the lid on it and tossed it into the oven at 250 degrees for a minimum of 3 hours.

Falling off the bone already!

For the last hour / hour and a half of cooking, I upped the oven to 300 degrees, keeping the lid on at all times. After about 3.5 - 4 hours, I switched it to a LO broil, took the lid off, and let it toast up the top for about 4 minutes.
It came out fabulously. Tender, juicy, flavorful and the apples added just a hint of sweetness. I also used arrowroot powder to thicken the juices into a nice sauce.

Such a pretty sight with new red potatoes and some sauce

Is this not just gorgeous looking? Yeah, I know I have no carrots on my plate. I don't like cooked carrots (just raw). But trust me...you can totally throw in carrots and eat them too. Just not me. :)

 I love this picture...so dark and mysterious...ok- no, that's just the afternoon sun leaving my kitchen. Sorry. But it is still tasty, shadows or not!

Oh, so pretty and tender.

 Here's a better picture without the shadows... all sitting nice and pretty and ready to be gobbled up. I really think this dish might be on my weekly rotation I love it *that* much. Oh, and the best news? You can use the leftover bones and tidbits of meat to make bone broth. Winning!

All pretty with potatoes, onions, apples and sauce

RECIPE:

(Side note- I'm sure you could do this in a crockpot, I just haven't tried it so I'm not sure how it will turn out- I'm assuming fabulous...just give it at least 8 hours instead of 4.5 with an oven.)

1 whole chicken

8 or so new red potatoes (and yellow if you like variety), quartered

1 onion, quartered

1 (or 2) apples, peeled, cored and diced (keep the core! and toss it in too! remove it before eating)

4 carrots, peeled and sliced lengthwise in 2-3 inch pieces.

1 tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp dried rubbed sage

1 tsp (full) whole peppercorns

2 tsp arrowroot powder

Place veggies and taters in dutch oven. Place chicken on top. Sprinkle spices on chicken.

Bake, lid on, at 250 degrees for 2.5-3 hours.

Then turn up the heat to 300 degrees for the last hour of cooking.

Remove lid, switch to BROIL (LO) for 4 minutes.

Remove from oven. Place chicken on carving plate, remove potatoes and veggies and place in serving bowl, and set dutch oven on stove. Heat on low. Remove fat from juices. Remove 1/2 cup juices and add the arrowroot powder, mix well. Return to pot, mixing into remaining juice. Mix well. Heat until sauce starts to thicken, but is not a gravy (I guess you can turn it into a gravy, but I like a sauce better).

When sauce is done, strain through cheesecloth into sauce bowl / server and serve with sliced chicken and the veggies.