Cast Iron Skillet Whole Roasted Chicken with Creamy Pan Gravy

A great roast chicken with crispy skin that’s moist and delicious. All it takes is a large cast iron skillet and you have a wonderful roast chicken dinner for the family. What the cast iron pan does so well is allow you to sear the chicken to a great crisp on all sides before the chicken bakes in the oven and then place everything directly into the oven. If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, consider investing in one. They’re inexpensive, oven-proof and the perfect vessel for this wonderfully juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside roast chicken.

Ingredients

• For the bird:  ·   
• Butchers Twine  ·   
• Chicken  ·  1 whole 
• Lemon, sliced  ·  1 whole 
• 2 tablespoons Kosher Salt  ·   
• 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper  ·   
• 6 ounces Butter, softened  ·   
•  ·   
• For the Veggies/Farro:  ·   
• 6 Small Cello Carrots, peeled and halved  ·   
• 2 bulbs Fennel, cored and diced  ·   
• Chicken Stock  ·  2 cups 
• Farro  ·  1 cup 
•  ·   
• For the gravy:  ·   
• 6 cloves Garlic, minced  ·   
• Shallots, diced  ·  2 
• 2 ounces All Purpose Flour  ·   
• 1/3 cup Williamson Wines Roussanne  ·   
• Heavy Cream  ·  1 cup 
• Herbie's Marjoram Rubbed  ·  2 tablespoons 

Instructions

Pre heat your oven to 450 degrees

Trussing your bird:

Take your whole chicken and rinse thoroughly under cold water. Pat the bird dry with paper towels and lay it on a large plastic cutting board. Make sure the bird is laying on its back with the legs facing you. Stuff the lemon slices in the cavity of the bird.

Place about three feet of butcher’s twine under the chicken, just behind the wings. Pull the twine over and around the wings.Then, by crossing the twine underneath the tip of the breast, pull the wings snug against the bird. Wrap twine over and then under the legs and pull the legs tight while pushing towards the thighs to remove slack. Flip the chicken over and cross the twine over the tail of the chicken. Pull tight, then tie off with a knot and trim the extra twine.

Directions:

This recipe is designed to be a one pot dish and calls for a heavy bottomed cast iron skillet to roast the whole chicken in. If you do not have one, a roasting pan or even a heavy duty sheet tray will work just fine; you will just have to cook the farro and gravy on the side.

Place the trussed chicken on its back in the cast iron skillet. Rub the outside of the chicken with 2 tablespoons of the softened butter until all of the skin on the bird is coated evenly. Then season well with salt and pepper.

Place the skillet with the bird in the oven and roast at 450 degrees for at least 10-15 min. or until the skin is golden brown, then remove the skillet from the oven.

Turn the oven down to 325 degrees.

While the bird is out of the oven; lift it up and add the carrots, fennel, and 1/2 of the shallots to the bottom of the skillet. Place the bird on top of the veggies and place the skillet back in the oven. Roast at 325 degrees for at least 30-45 minuets or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.

Remove the skillet from the oven. Take the bird out of the skillet first and place on a cutting board to rest. Cover the bird with foil. Then remove all of the veggies and set aside leaving the chicken fat in the bottom of the skillet.

Heat the chicken fat at the bottom of the skillet on your stove top over med high heat. Once the fat begins to shimmer add the garlic and other 1/2 of the shallots. Cook for about 1 minute. Then deglaze the pan with Williamson Wines Roussanne. Cook until the wine is mostly evaporated.

Then add 4 tablespoons of butter. Once the butter melts, whisk in the flour. Cook for 1 minute. Continue whisking while you add the heavy cream and the Herbie's Marjoram Leaves. Cook for about 5 minutes. If it is too thick, simply thin it out with a little chicken stock. Transfer to a bowl and cover with foil.

Wipe out out the cast iron skillet with a paper towel. Add the farro and the chicken stock to the skillet. Heat the skillet over high heat until it begins to boil. Then transfer to your oven. Turn your oven up to 400 degrees and cook the farro for about 20min. or until all the chicken stock is evaporated.

Meanwhile, you can either wait to serve your chicken feast all together as shown in the photo or you can slice your bird up while the farro is cooking. Which ever you choose, make sure to serve it with alot of creamy gravy on top and enjoy with a glass of Williamson Wines Roussanne.

Tommy's Tips:

If you would like to cook this recipe faster you can cook the farro or any type of rice on your stovetop while the chicken is cooking in the oven. Then when the bird comes out of the oven you can finish the creamy pan gravy and enjoy right away.