Cast-Iron Roast Chicken

One whole roasted browned chicken in a cast-iron pan with pan juices.

5 from 5 votes

A deliciously and beautifully-browned cast-iron roast chicken with garlicky, oily grape pan juices and stuffed with creamy Brie—perfect for family dinners and festive enough for the Holidays.

Prep Time10

Cook Time1

Total Time1 10

Course: Main Courses

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: servings

Calories: 229kcal

Author: Mariska Ramondino

Equipment

Cast iron skillet

Ingredients

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil plus more to grease the oven-safe skillet
1 whole chicken 4 to 5 pounds (1.8 to 2.3 kilos)
Sea or Kosher salt 2 to 3 teaspoons or more to taste
1 head garlic
½ cup packed cubed Brie 98 grams
1 large yellow onion coarsely chopped (290 grams)
2 cups whole black seedless grapes 315 grams
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning*
Freshly ground black pepper
3 sprigs rosemary

Instructions

Arrange a rack in the center of your oven, and preheat to 425 °F/ 220 °C.
Take a large oven-safe skillet (I use a cast-iron skillet) and rub a small amount of oil onto the pan (one tablespoon should be enough); set aside.
Thoroughly pat-dry the whole chicken with paper towels which will help with browning.
Transfer the chicken breast side up to the reserved oven-safe skillet.
Season every surface of the chicken generously with salt, including inside the wings.
Rub some salt inside the cavity. I use 2 to 3 teaspoons of salt to season the whole chicken. As you season the chicken in the skillet, some of the oil will rub off the chicken, which is okay.
Cut the head of garlic crosswise in half. Arrange one half cut side down in the skillet (I always use the bottom part). Take the garlic pieces out of the other (top) half, and arrange them inside the chicken.
Arrange the onion pieces around the chicken in the oven-safe skillet and stuff some inside the cavity.
With the chicken breast facing up, slice partly through the skin that connects the legs to the breast. Season the meat inside also with some salt. You will use these openings for the Brie filling.
Take the pieces of Brie and arrange them between the chicken legs, wings, and a few pieces inside the cavity.
Now arrange the grapes around the chicken and on top of the onions and garlic in the oven-safe skillet. Stuff some pieces inside the cavity.
Season the onions and grapes with a few extra pinches of salt.
Then season the chicken evenly with Italian seasoning.
Season everything generously with black pepper.
Drizzle ¼ cup of extra-virgin olive oil over the ingredients, nicely coating the chicken.
Arrange the fresh Rosemary sprigs in the pan around the chicken.
Transfer to the oven and roast until the chicken is beautifully browned and done.
Count 15 minutes per pound of chicken, so for a 4 pound of chicken, roast for 1 hour.
To check for doneness, I carefully remove the skillet from the oven and check between the cut leg joints. It needs more time if you see any pinkish colors.
Let the cast-iron roast chicken rest for a few minutes before carving and serving.
The pan juices will be incredibly flavorful and should be served together with the meat or any side dishes like mashed potatoes or Mashed cauliflower.
Remove the Rosemary leaves. Crumble some of the dried needles and place them back into the pan (optional).
This beautiful cast-iron roasted chicken recipe is unique enough to serve on festive occasions—think chicken for Thanksgiving or Christmas!

Notes

*If you don't have Italian seasoning, replace it with 1 teaspoon of dried oregano, 1 teaspoon of dried basil, and 1 teaspoon of dried marjoram. These are all beautiful herbs to season the chicken.

Expert Tips

Always pat dry the chicken with paper towels before preparing. Don't skip this step. I even go inside the cavity of the chicken and thoroughly dry it. It will result in beautiful crispier skin and ensure no extra liquid interferes with those flavorful caramelized pan juices.
If you can, let the chicken rest at room temperature for around 10 minutes before prep time. It ensures the meat cooks evenly.
Season every surface of the chicken generously with salt—yep, even inside the cavity and in between the wings. Chicken needs a good amount of salt to develop beautiful flavors and a juicy texture.
Some whole chickens are sold with giblet parts. Season them with salt and pepper and place them in the oven-save skillet alongside the chicken—these parts deliciously flavor the pan juices and become soft, delicate treats.
If it's a good Brie, you don't need to remove the rinds; it's edible, and you won't taste it in this recipe.
I count about 15 minutes of oven time per pound of chicken. My chicken always turns out beautifully browned with crispy skin and wonderful flavors but still juicy.
You can roast the whole chicken with potatoes. Use small yellow potatoes, cut in half to allow them to brown evenly (up to 676 grams max, not to crowd the pan). You'll need one to two extra tablespoons of olive oil to sufficiently coat the potatoes as well.
Leave the bird alone in the oven—no need to baste it. Let the oven do its work and roast long enough for the flavors to develop.
Let the roasted bird rest before carving. Wait for about 10 minutes for the juicy chicken to settle further and for the flavors to come together.

Nutrition