BUNDT PAN ROASTED CHICKEN

A unique and flavourful way of roasting chicken and vegetables in a bundt pan. In this post, I will share the pros and cons of this recipe.

I was so excited to try this dish when I first watched this video from Delish on Facebook. The dish seemed so simple to prepare and the chicken looked perfectly roasted all the way around. Last weekend, my husband picked up two chickens at the grocery store, and I prepared one of them this way. I slightly adapted the recipe by leaving out the lemon, garlic, and rosemary.

I first peeled the vegetables and cut them into bite size pieces. I ended up doubling the amount of vegetables called for in the recipe, for two reasons: 1) I didn’t think it was enough to go around for my family, and 2) I wanted to elevate the chicken a little higher.

The recipe states to add the oil to the vegetables but I added it to the pan first because I worried that the vegetables would stick to the bottom of the pan. I swirled the pan around to distribute the oil evenly at the bottom.

Then I started layering the aromatics … first the potatoes, then the carrots and onion, and I topped it off with some thyme and a couple of bay leaves. I lightly salted each layer with freshly ground sea salt.

I was craving butter flavoured potatoes, so I added some cubed butter over the vegetables. This was a big mistake but I wasn’t aware of it yet. I will explain what I mean later in the post.

I then folded a square piece of aluminium foil in half and then again in half, and covered the hole of the bundt pan, so the drippings of the chicken would stay within the pan.

The bird was just under 4 lbs (1.8 kg) and it came with no gizzards (it doesn’t happen too often but I didn’t mind). I removed some excess skin around the the neck, as well as the open cavity at the bottom. I wanted to cut down on the chicken fat, since I had already added the butter and olive oil to the vegetables.

In the video, the chicken is seasoned on the bundt pan, but I found it easier to simply lay it on a cutting board. I sprinkled a good amount of fine sea salt inside the cavity; and then I brushed both sides of the chicken with olive oil and seasoned generously with sea salt. (I left out the pepper because my boys would have complained that it’s too spicy.) 🙂

As I sat the bird onto my old bundt pan, I couldn’t help but think about the cookbook I got my husband for Christmas last year, 50 Shades of Chicken (non-affiliate link). It was supposed to be a gag gift, since he had already read the original book. I have yet to read it, but the cookbook was hilarious. 😉

Okay. Back to the bundt pan chicken. Up until now, everything was coming along great, and it closely resembled the one in the video recipe.

I wasn’t planning on doing this, but my middle son came along and tucked some thyme and a bay leaf into the neck cavity of the chicken. In German, he said that the chicken will taste better. ❤ He’s a clever little dude. ❤ My seven year old is becoming quite the cook himself. 🙂

By the time the chicken reached the oven, she decided that she felt more comfortable leaning to one side (regardless of the number of times I tried straightening her out). 🙂 I placed her on the lower rack of my oven (previously preheated to 425 °F or 220 °C), and baked for an hour, since she was a tad smaller. Half way through, I turn the pan around to roast the other side.

And here is the final result. My chicken was no where close to the one in the video. It was unevenly baked and only the top half was nicely browned.

The bottom half looked like the chicken had been boiled rather than roasted, and I found it to be unappetizing. Now, what’s not shown in the photo (nor in the video), is the pool of fat that had gathered in the thighs of the chicken. When I lifted it from the bundt pan, all that fat just gushed onto the vegetables. For a second or two, I felt grossed out. If I had known that it would do that, I wouldn’t have added the extra olive oil and butter to the vegetables. 😦

My kids love their drumsticks crispy, so I turned the chicken upsidedown and popped it back into the oven until it lightly browned. I don’t know how long it took, but it ended up slightly drying out the breast meat (but it was still edible).

When it comes to aesthetics, let’s just say that she looks unique. I took photos at different angles, and in this case, the bird-eye-view was the best one. 🙂

But once I added the vegetables around the roasted chicken, the dish looked stunning (and the chicken doesn’t look so bad). 😉

The final result? The chicken and vegetables tasted absolutely delicious! Would I make this again? Absolutely! The only difference is that I would roast the vegetables separately. 🙂

Now you know what to expect if you try this bundt pan roasted chicken recipe. I hope you found this post helpful, so go try making your own version. Buon appetito!!

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BUNDT PAN ROASTED CHICKEN
(Printable Recipe)

A unique and flavourful way of roasting chicken vegetables in a bundt pan.

Ingredients:

• 1 3-4 lb (1360-1800 grams) chicken, gizzards removed
• 4 medium carrots, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 or 2 large onion(s), peeled and quartered
• 1 lb (450-500 g) yukon gold potatoes, cubed into bite-size pieces
• 1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (plus 2 more for brushing)
• 2 tbsp (28-30 g) cold butter, cubed (OPTIONAL)
• sea salt, to taste
• 4 small twigs of fresh thyme
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 1 x 3-4 lb (1300-1800 g) whole chicken, gizzards removed

Directions:

1. Lower the rack to lower part of the oven and preheat to 425 °F (220 °C).

2. Add 1 or 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to the bundt pan and swirl it around to distribute the oil evenly at the bottom.

3. First add the potatoes, then the carrots and then the onions, lightly seasoning with sea salt in between layers. Top with fresh thyme, dried bay leaves, and cubed butter, if using. Cover the hole of the bundt pan with folded aluminum foil.

4. Lay chicken on a cutting board and brush on 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Season generously with sea salt. Flip the chicken over, brush on the last tablespoon, and season again generously with sea salt. Season the inside cavity of the chicken also with salt.

5. Sit the chicken on the covered hole of the pan, breast side up. Bake until the chicken is cooked through and the skin is golden, about 1 to 1-1/2 hours. If you wish, flip the chicken upside onto the vegetables, and roast the bottom half of the chicken a bit longer, until golden (this could slightly dry out the chicken breast, though).

6. Let the chicken rest for 10-15 minutes. Lay the chicken on it’s back on a large oval platter, drain the vegetables, and arrange them around the chicken. Enjoy!

MAKES 4-6 SERVINGS

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Adapted from Delish.com

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