Best 3 Cast Iron Roast Chicken With Fennel And Carrots Recipes

CAST-IRON ROAST CHICKEN WITH FENNEL AND CARROTS

Steps:

• Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season generously with salt, inside and out. (We use 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1/2 tsp. Morton kosher salt per lb.) Tie legs together with kitchen twine. Let sit 1 hour to allow salt to penetrate, or chill, uncovered, up to 1 day ahead.
• Place a rack in upper third of oven and set a 12" cast-iron skillet or 3-qt. enameled cast-iron baking dish on rack. Preheat oven to 425°F.
• Meanwhile, toss fennel, carrots, and 2 Tbsp. oil in a large bowl to coat; season with salt and pepper.
• Once oven reaches temperature, pat chicken dry with paper towels and lightly coat with half of remaining oil. Drizzle remaining oil into hot skillet (this helps keep the chicken from sticking and tearing the skin). Place chicken in the center of skillet and arrange vegetables around. Roast until fennel and carrots are golden brown in spots and tender an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of breasts registers 155°F, 50-60 minutes (temperature will climb to 165°F as chicken rests). Let chicken rest in skillet at least 20 minutes and up to 45 minutes.
• Transfer chicken to a cutting board and carve. Serve with vegetables.

SKILLET CHICKEN WITH LEEKS AND CARROTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F. Pat chicken dry; season generously with salt and pepper. Heat a large, heavy ovenproof skillet (such as cast iron) over medium-high. Add butter and 1 tablespoon oil. When butter melts and foam subsides, add chicken, skin-sides down. Cook, undisturbed, until skin lifts easily from skillet and forms a golden-brown crust, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate, skin-sides up.
• Add leeks, carrots, bread cubes, garlic, lemon zest, and remaining 2 tablespoons oil to skillet, stirring to evenly coat; season with salt and pepper. Return chicken and any accumulated juices to skillet, arranging breasts on top of vegetables in a single layer, skin-sides up.
• Roast until a thermometer inserted into thickest part of breasts reads 160°F, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate and loosely cover to keep warm. Stir mint into skillet; return to oven. Roast until vegetables are tender and golden and bread turns crisp, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice into vegetable mixture and sprinkle with more mint leaves. Drizzle remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice over rested chicken. Carve chicken; serve with vegetable mixture.

ROAST CHICKEN WITH FENNEL

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Drizzle bottom of shallow roasting pan or baking sheet with about half the olive oil and cover it with a layer of the fennel. Overlap pieces if necessary but use whole pan. Drizzle remaining oil over fennel and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, cut up chicken if necessary and sprinkle the pieces with salt and pepper.
• Top fennel with the chicken parts, skin side up. Ideally, you'll have a layer of fennel pretty much covered by a layer of chicken, but it's fine if some of the fennel roasts uncovered. Spoon some of the oil from bottom of pan over chicken. If there is not enough, drizzle additional olive oil over the chicken. Roast about 15 minutes, then baste chicken with pan drippings and rotate the pan. If necessary, adjust oven temperature so chicken browns but does not burn.
• The chicken will be done in about 30 minutes. Serve each piece with some fennel and a little of the pan juices spooned over, garnished with parsley and a lemon wedge.