Two Whole Roasted Chickens

11/04/2024 / Kathleen | Roots & Boots /

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Preparing whole roasted chickens used to be a normal kitchen skill. However, with the advent of modern consumers and frankly, our nation’s migration away from farms and farm-fresh foods, this simple skill has fallen somewhat out of fashion.

The art of preparing whole roasted chickens

I honestly didn’t know how to cook a whole chicken until my family started focusing on real foods and began buying meats from a local farm. When it comes to purchasing fresh, local meats, whole chickens are the best way to get the most bang for your buck.

Why invest in expensive chicken breasts when can you cook an entire chicken, utilize all the meat, and turn the carcass into nourishing bone broth? It’s a win-win.

When you realize how easy it is to roast a whole chicken, you’ll wonder why you waited so long to learn this time-honored traditional skill.

Prefer the crockpot method? Try this easy recipe for Whole Crockpot Chicken.

Pastured chickens

By the way, we eventually started growing our own food, including meat chickens (which are usually different from laying hens) and now we eat our homegrown, pasture-raised chicken just about every week!

I do recommend sourcing local, pasture-raised chickens, which are superior to store-bought birds in both flavor and nutrition. Pastured birds also make the best broth with the highest gelatin content.

Two chickens save time

This recipe is for two chickens, because preparing a second bird takes very little time and produces more leftover meat to be repurposed for future meals. It’s a great way to streamline your time in the kitchen!

However, you can obviously cut the recipe in half and prepare only one chicken if you prefer. But remember, leftover chicken is easy to freeze for use in future meals. Again, cooking two chickens at once will save you time later.

Whole roasted chicken ingredients

In addition to the chickens, you’ll need only a few simple ingredients.

Onions: Onions add flavor to the chickens as they roast, but the best part is how delicious they taste after roasting. Do not miss spooning these tasty onion bits over your plated, roasted chicken!
Oil: I use avocado oil because it is much safer than olive oil for high-heat cooking and has a delicious flavor.
Butter: Try to find the best butter possible, ideally from a farm with grass-fed cows.
Salt and pepper: Always use unrefined sea salt! Table salt is terribly unhealthy, but unrefined sea salt is nourishing to the body and provides many important minerals. Save 15% on my favorite brand with code KEEPITREAL.
Lemons: Use organic lemons, if possible, as citrus fruits are one of the most highly sprayed crops.
Garlic: Roasted garlic is just dreamy, and it really shines in this simple recipe.
Rosemary: Use fresh rosemary and be amazed at the incredible aromas wafting from your oven, not to mention the flavor suffused through your delicious roasted chickens.

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Choosing a roasting pan for whole roasted chickens

If cooking with nontoxic cookware is important to you, look for a stainless-steel roasting pan. While any old roasting pan will do for cooking chickens, I have found that choosing a beautiful pan completely transforms the process and the results.

When you spend a lot of time in the kitchen, beautiful and well-made tools really do make a difference. Choose tools that will stand the test of time, avoid contributing unhealthy toxins to your family’s meals, and look beautiful while doing so.

Stainless Steel Roasting Pan | Roots & Boots

In the market for nontoxic cookware or sturdy kitchen tools?

Here are a few more of my top picks:

How to roast whole chickens

Roasting a whole chicken (or two!) is real food cooking at its best. Simple, with only a few ingredients, and largely hands-off, this is a recipe you’ll come back to time after time.

Line the bottom of a roasting pan with sliced onions and drizzle with oil.
Lay the chickens on the onions.
Season inside the chickens with salt and pepper.
Stuff each chicken with lemon, garlic, and rosemary.
Brush melted butter over each chicken, one at a time.
Season immediately with salt and pepper.
Roast at 425 degrees F for 90-120 minutes, until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.

Turn whole roasted chickens into multiple meals

Roasting two chickens at once allows you to make multiple meals in less time.

First, you’ll enjoy the delicious roasted chickens. Simply add a green salad or other veggie sides, and you’ve got a complete meal.
After dinner, remove the rest of the meat from the bones and reserve in the refrigerator for later use. See below to get ideas for using up leftover chicken.
Finally, use the chicken carcasses–skin, bones, and any parts not desirable for eating–to make a batch of nourishing bone broth.
If you like, you can stretch your chickens even further by turning them into a second or third batch of broth.

A few favorite ways to use leftover chicken:

Good news: these recipes are all grain-free and dairy-free!