Romertopf Roasted Chicken
Romertopf Roasted Chicken may not sound exciting but it’s a family favorite for so many reasons. Chicken dinner isn’t fancy, but done right, it’s so satisfying. Comforting, budget friendly, delicious, and versatile. In our house, one chicken will produce at least 3 dinners for our family of four. I’ll roast a chicken and after we have our fill, the leftovers are great for enchiladas, soup, or a pasta sauce. We then use the carcass for chicken broth as well, a kitchen staple in our house!
My first step in any chicken preparation is brining. I think it makes a world of difference for any poultry or pork product to brine. If possible, get a brine mixed up and let the bird have a soak for 1-2 hours before roasting. You can do this a day ahead and let the skin dry out in the fridge, or right before cooking. And, make sure you rinse off the chicken (including under the skin) after brining. This helps remove as much salt as possible from the surface. Then pat it dry and rub it down with your favorite spices and some butter or oil. The high temperature cooking in the clay pot produces crispy skin and juicy meat.
We are fortunate to have a local source for Hutterite free range poultry, they’re great quality birds. But, I also love a bargain and chicken goes on sale frequently for very low prices in our area. Either way, you’re going to get a great bang for your buck. But, brining is especially important for those bargain birds since they can be a bit less tender and juicy.
I’m a huge fan of clay pot cooking and I’ve had a Romertopf clay pot for at least 15 years. I like it so much I have given many as gifts over the years. Romertopf Roasted Chicken and Roman Pot Meatloaf are my favorite uses for the clay pot, but it’s a great tool for many applications. This is an unglazed terra cotta pot that requires soaking in water before use and employs a high heat baking that keeps the enclosed food moist and flavorful.
Romertopf Roasted Chicken
Equipment
- Romertopf Clay Pot or roasting pan
Ingredients
Brine
- 3 Qt water
- 1/2 cup salt
- 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 1 tsp ground corriander
- 1 tsp allspice
- 1 tsp rosemary
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp sage
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp chicken base or 2 bullion cubes
After Brining
- 1 whole Chicken 5-6 pounds
- 4 tbsp butter
- 3-4 cloves garlic minced
- 1-2 tsp hot paprika or sweet, to your taste
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
Instructions
Directions
- Combine all brine ingredients in a large container (if you have whole spices, use those and grind together in a spice grinder), we use a 6 quart lidded hard plastic container (also great for proofing bread dough), and place chicken in brine. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 2 hours, don’t brine for longer than 2 hours as the meat can begin to deteriorate.
- Portion out spices and butter for seasoning the chicken while your hands are still clean. Set up your prep area so you have a place to work with the raw meat. Get the roasting pan ready, or start soaking your Romertopf clay pot.
- Remove chicken from brine and rinse, inside, outside, and under skin to get as much of the salty solution off of the meat as possible.
- Place the chicken on a poultry safe cutting board and loosen skin from the meat, then rub butter under the skin, and spread the minced garlic under the skin. Season the skin with paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper, to your liking.
- If using a Romertopf clay pot (which I prefer) take the pot out of the water bath, rub lightly with olive oil and add the chicken. Place in a COLD oven and set to 480 degrees and roast for 75-90 minutes until breast meat registers 160 and thigh meat is 175 degrees. If you’re using a metal roasting pan, place the chicken in a lightly sprayed pan and into preheated 450 degree oven, 45-60 minutes until breast meat registers 160 and thigh meat is 175 degrees.
- Remove from oven and allow the chicken to rest for 5 minutes. Transfer chicken to a carving board and allow to rest for another 10 minutes. Carve chicken and place meat on a platter for service.
