One-pot roasted chicken with chestnuts and crabapples
One-pot roasted chicken with chestnuts and crabapples is a simple and savory fall meal you’ll love. Serve the finished chestnuts whole or use them to make a delicious chestnut-crabapple mash!
Servings 4
Equipment
- large baking dish (We use a 12" x 8" x 3" ceramic baking dish)
- blender or food processor, if making mashed chestnuts
Ingredients
- 5-6 lb whole chicken (weight of chicken will affect baking time) (*Try to source free-range, humanely-raised chicken)
- 10 ounces crabapples, or approximately 30 large-sized crabapples (See pictures and notes in article for crabapple size reference)
- 1 lb chestnuts, approximately *24 chestnuts (*This is about 6 chestnuts per serving - chestnuts are quite filling, but you can add more to your dish if you want larger servings.)
- 1 1/2 large white onions, cut into chunks
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped (for stuffing inside chicken)
- 2 carrots, cut into chunks
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (1.5 tbsp for coating chicken skin, 1.5 for coating other ingredients)
- 3 tbsp fresh thyme, measured minced (1 for chicken skin, 1 for stuffing inside chicken, 1 for other ingredients) ALT: 1 tbsp dried thyme
- 3 tbsp fresh rosemary, measured minced (1 for chicken skin, 1 for stuffing inside chicken, 1 for other ingredients) ALT: 1 tbsp dried rosemary
- 1/2 lemon, cut into slices (for stuffing inside chicken)
- 1 1/2 tsp salt (3/4 tsp for chicken skin, 3/4 tsp for other ingredients)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400ºF (204ºC).
- Score chestnuts then place in large bowl. Remove crabapple stems and bottoms, place in same bowl with chestnuts. Chop onions and carrots into large chunks, place in same bowl. Mince herbs and put 1 tbsp of both thyme and rosemary into same bowl. Add 1 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil + 3/4 tsp salt to bowl, then mix all ingredients together. Seperate out chestnuts into seperate bowl from other ingredients.
- Chop garlic and slice lemons. Blot chicken skin dry with paper towels, then place in center of baking dish. Coat skin with olive oil, then 1 tbsp each minced thyme and rosemary, then 3/4 tsp salt. Stuff chicken with lemon slices, garlic, and remaining herbs. Truss chicken. Put crabapple/carrot/onion mixture around chicken in baking dish. Then place chestnuts around chicken, X-side down on top of veggie-crabapple mixture.
- Loosely cover dish with aluminum foil then place in 400ºF (204ºC) pre-heated oven for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, reduce heat to 350ºF (177ºC) then uncover dish and bake for another ~2 hours. Bake time may vary, so use a meat thermometer to verify breast temp reading of at least 165ºF (74ºC) to know it's done. Remove from oven and let cool. Serve chestnuts whole as side dish medley OR use instructions in article to make crabapple-chestnut mash (our recommendation!).