This recipe was discovered after a search for something to cook in a brand-new Staub cast-iron pan I picked up at a steal from Amazon. The little recipe booklet that comes with the pan has a great many photos of whole chickens being roasted inside, but the recipes all in the end called for chicken parts. Staged photos indeed! Fortunately, I ran across this fantastic recipe from the site Meathenge for “Wet Roast Chicken” perfect for my cast iron pot. Here is the recipe with minor modifications, and many thanks to Dr. Biggles. We served it with a parsnip-pumpkin puree.
Roast Chicken with Mushroom Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 4 lb. roasting chicken
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4″ rounds
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed with the side of a knife
- 3-4 cups chicken stock
- 1/2 lb. mushrooms, cleaned and chopped in half
- 3 tbsp. olive oil, 2 for pot, 1 for chicken
- 2 tsp. paprika
- salt
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place rack on bottom shelf.
- Remove giblets from chicken. Reserve neck.
- Cut back out of chicken and cut into several pieces.
- With breast side down, score the back of the breastbone and flip chicken over.
- Smack down center of breast in order to flatten chicken somewhat.
- Heat 2 tbsp. olive oil in 5-6 quart cast iron pot over medium heat.
- Add onion, celery, carrots, garlic and chicken backs. Sauté until vegetables are quite soft, approximately 5-10 minutes.
- Add enough chicken stock to cover the vegetables and increase heat to high.
- Bring to a rolling boil and boil 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat, and place chicken inside pot, breast side up. You basically want the chicken to float on top, barely submerged.
- Drizzle chicken with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and paprika.
- Place in oven and roast uncovered until a thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the breast reaches 160 degrees.
- Remove chicken from oven and pot, and place on a plate to rest. Cover lightly to keep warm.
- Using a ladle, remove most of the fat floating on top of the liquid. If desired, blend liquid until smooth using an immersion blender.
- Add mushrooms, and bring sauce to a boil.
- Simmer for several minutes until mushrooms are cooked through. Serve immediately.