Mom’s Best Roasted Chicken

Learn three ways to roast a simple chicken and create nourishing bone broth from the leftovers for a quick and cost-effective way to be ready for dinner.

There are two great pitfalls of cooking for multiple people (aka the family!):

1. You’re responsible. Everyday. Three meals a day. For eternity.
2. They have tastebuds and opinions.

Ha! In all seriousness, there isn’t a mom I’ve spoken to who hasn’t wrestled with the question of “what’s for dinner”, and struggled to get it to the table on time. It’s hard because it’s a learning process, and the guests at our tables change as they grow. Now, I didn’t say that it was a bad problem. I love how Shaye Elliott and Angela Reed put it: “You choose your hard”. I could spend money on quick fix, frozen options (and maybe we do have some on hand for emergencies), or I could drive my family out every evening. I choose the hard of fixing whole food, nutrient dense meals every day.

I made that decision a long time ago, and I’ve stuck with it because I really believe in it. I have confidence that it is the right choice for my family, because I have seen how their bodies respond to other options. I give myself room to be human, and take the opt out when I need to, but I don’t feel guilty. That’s the message I want to share with others: that they could have the confidence to make good decisions for their family because it comes from “their wooden spoons”. All sorts of decisions, in all sorts of ways.

I found that coming into marriage and having kids was new territory, with almost too many options and opinions. I had gut feelings, but I hoped for a baseline… Somewhere to start. The same can be said about people just starting a garden, or just beginning to cook from scratch. This is the same for someone moving to a new city, or even starting a new hobby. There are many options and opinions, but we need a baseline and the confidence to begin. When it comes to dinner, the roast chicken is your baseline.

While You’ll Love This Recipe

A roast chicken is one of the most basic, foundational recipes for the home cook. A full chicken, roasted to juicy perfection can host a dinner party, star as the main course or be the base for delicious pastas, salads and sides.

Here, we talk about three options with the focus on timeliness! As a mom, my priorities are different every day but my core values remain the same. Having options gives me flexibility!

Leftovers vary from household to household, but everyone will have leftover bones. We talk about multiple ways to turn these bones into tomorrow’s soup night so we can extend our homecooked chicken’s value and expense.

General Ingredients for a Roast Chicken

1-2 Organic Chickens

1 TB salt

½ TB garlic powder

Pepper

** Dried spices, rubs or spice blends

We love a combination of even parts onion powder, dried parsley, dried basil, dried oregano. 

1) Fastest: How to Cook a Frozen Chicken in the Instapot (1 hour)

This is a game changer! No need to defrost your bird, just place it in the instapot and follow these instructions from Farmhouse on Boone. I prefer this method for shredding and adding to pastas, tacos, rice bowls, salads, etc.

2) Fast: How to Roast a Chicken in the Oven (1-ish hour)

If I have defrosted my bird, or purchased it fresh, I will often use this method. While the Instapot creates tender, cooked meat from frozen, a oven roasted chicken more of a centerpiece. This method of cooking creates more of a main course.

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. 
2. Remove chicken from packaging, and remove any parts in the cavity. This can be the heart, neck, etc. 
3. Rinse the chicken under cool water and pat dry. 
4. Rub on the salt; you can put some under the skin and in the cavity. 
5. Top with pepper and garlic powder or other spices, rubs or blends.
6. Place in a pyrex (8×8 or 9×13) and put in the oven. 
7. Bake for 45 mins and check the internal temperature. 
8. Chicken will be cooked when golden brown with an internal temperature of 165F, about 1 hour.

3) Low and Slow: How to Smoke a Chicken (2ish hours)

If I have time at home and a defrosted chicken, this is my method of choice. This method highlights flavor. The longer cook time plus the smokiness creates crispy skin and soft meat, perfect for main course or your best chicken tacos.

Directions

1. Preheat the smoker to 300-350F
2. Follow the same steps for steps 2-6 for roasting a chicken in the oven. 
3. Remove the chicken from the pyrex and place in the smoker. 
4. Cook for 1.5 hours and check the internal temperature.
5. Chicken will be cooked when golden brown with an internal temperature of 165F, about 1 hour.

How to Make Bone Broth in an Instapot

1. Place bones and veggie scraps in the pot and add filtered water to the max fill line.
2. Add a splash of apple cider vinegar. Salt is not required. 
3. Set the instapot to the “soup” setting (120 mins) and run. 
4. Once finished, run a second time. 
5. After complete, pour through a sieve into a stainless steel or glass container to cool.
6. Once cooled, place in storage containers or soup cubes. 
7. Store in the fridge for 3 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months.

How to Make Bone Broth on a Stovetop

1. Place bones and veggie scraps in a pot and add filtered water until bones are covered. 
2. Add a splash of apple cider vinegar. Salt is not required. 
3. Place on the lowest stovetop setting and leave for 5-6 hours. You can simmer longer for thicker, darker broth.
4. After complete, pour through a sieve into a stainless steel or glass container to cool.
5. Once cooled, place in storage containers or soup cubes.

Read More:

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