Chicken in a Pot with Red Potatoes, Carrots, and Shallots
By America's Test KitchenPublished on September 11, 2020
Time
2 hours
Yield
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 (3½- to 4-pound) whole chicken, giblets discarded1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1½ pounds red potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1-inch pieces1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces4 shallots, peeled and halved3 garlic cloves, minced1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme or ¼ teaspoon dried½ cup dry white wine ½ cup chicken broth, plus extra as needed1 bay leaf 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Pat chicken dry with paper towels, tuck wingtips behind back, and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add chicken, breast side down, and brown lightly, about 5 minutes. Carefully flip chicken breast side up and cook until back is well browned, 6 to 8 minutes; transfer to large plate.
- Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat left in pot. Add potatoes, carrots, shallots, and ½ teaspoon salt and cook over medium heat until vegetables are just beginning to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in wine, broth, and bay leaf, scraping up any browned bits.
- Off heat, return chicken, breast side up, and any accumulated juices to pot, on top of vegetables. Transfer pot to oven and cook, uncovered, until breast registers 160 degrees and thighs register 175 degrees, 55 to 65 minutes.
- Remove pot from oven. Transfer chicken to carving board and let rest for 20 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer vegetables to platter, and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.
- Discard bay leaf. Pour liquid left in pot into fat separator and let settle for 5 minutes. (You should have ¾ cup defatted liquid; add extra broth as needed to equal ¾ cup.) Return defatted liquid to now-empty pot and simmer until it measures ½ cup, 5 to 7 minutes. Off heat, whisk in butter and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle vegetables with parsley, carve chicken, and serve with sauce.
Time
2 hoursYield
Serves 4Ingredients
1 (3½- to 4-pound) whole chicken, giblets discarded
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1½ pounds red potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
4 shallots, peeled and halved
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme or ¼ teaspoon dried
½ cup dry white wine
½ cup chicken broth, plus extra as needed
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
Salt and pepper
Ingredients
1 (3½- to 4-pound) whole chicken, giblets discarded
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1½ pounds red potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
4 shallots, peeled and halved
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme or ¼ teaspoon dried
½ cup dry white wine
½ cup chicken broth, plus extra as needed
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
Salt and pepper
Ingredients
1 (3½- to 4-pound) whole chicken, giblets discarded
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1½ pounds red potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
4 shallots, peeled and halved
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme or ¼ teaspoon dried
½ cup dry white wine
½ cup chicken broth, plus extra as needed
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
Salt and pepper
Why This Recipe Works
It sounded so simple: Add root vegetables to classic poulet en cocotte, where a chicken bakes in a covered pot, yielding unbelievably tender meat (albeit with soft skin) and a sauce of the chicken’s own concentrated juices. After an hour of baking, the vegetables were underdone. Adding jus-weakening liquid was a faux pas, yet we forged ahead, adding chicken broth and wine for acidity and mild sweetness. Now we had tender vegetables, but the jus had lost intensity. To counter that, we browned the chicken to build fond, which deepened the jus, and sautéed our potatoes, carrots, and shallots. With some browning on our bird, we were reluctant to put on the lid, but was that still critical? The increased liquid in the Dutch oven’s confined space meant an uncovered roasting might intensify the sauce without evaporating too much, while bathing our vegetables in flavor. The domino effect we’d started by adding vegetables paid off, and we were left with succulent meat, crisped skin, superflavorful vegetables, and a killer sauce.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Pat chicken dry with paper towels, tuck wingtips behind back, and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add chicken, breast side down, and brown lightly, about 5 minutes. Carefully flip chicken breast side up and cook until back is well browned, 6 to 8 minutes; transfer to large plate.
- Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat left in pot. Add potatoes, carrots, shallots, and ½ teaspoon salt and cook over medium heat until vegetables are just beginning to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in wine, broth, and bay leaf, scraping up any browned bits.
- Off heat, return chicken, breast side up, and any accumulated juices to pot, on top of vegetables. Transfer pot to oven and cook, uncovered, until breast registers 160 degrees and thighs register 175 degrees, 55 to 65 minutes.
- Remove pot from oven. Transfer chicken to carving board and let rest for 20 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer vegetables to platter, and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.
- Discard bay leaf. Pour liquid left in pot into fat separator and let settle for 5 minutes. (You should have ¾ cup defatted liquid; add extra broth as needed to equal ¾ cup.) Return defatted liquid to now-empty pot and simmer until it measures ½ cup, 5 to 7 minutes. Off heat, whisk in butter and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle vegetables with parsley, carve chicken, and serve with sauce.
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