Got a Whole Chicken? Here’s Where to Start

By SAVEUR Editors | Published Apr 21, 2020 4:42 PM

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Whether you're whipping up a chicken dish in less than 30 minutes, or making chicken recipes from around the world, cooking with an entire chicken doesn't have to be intimidating. From traditional southern fried chicken hailing from a North Carolina BBQ restaurant, to Chinese chicken baked in salt, we've rounded up our best whole chicken recipes so you can make use of the whole bird. Farideh Sadeghin

Blueberry BBQ Chicken

Similar to a shrub—a fruit syrup punctuated by vinegar—my Blue Q sauce makes a bracing drink when mixed with club soda or booze. It’s also the first step in a fruity vinaigrette. And as much as it loves smoke, this sauce sees my oven more than my grill. Keep in mind this is not a marinade. Brush it on toward the end of cooking and let the chicken soak up more of the sauce before serving. The final soak is key. Get the recipe for Blueberry Barbecue Chicken »

Get the recipe for Chicken Paprikash »

Like many Acadian dishes, jambalaya’s complex flavors belie its humble, born-of-necessity origins. Get the recipe for Jambalaya

Parker’s BBQ Fried Chicken

Parker’s BBQ in Wilson, North Carolina, famous for its Family Platter with shatteringly crisp fried chicken, goes through seven to eight thousand chickens a week. A favorite of chef Elizabeth Karmel’s, this super-simple recipe lets the flavor of the chicken shine. Get the recipe for Parker’s BBQ Fried Chicken »

Chicken pulls double duty here: the meat adds heft, while the carcass yields a rich broth that’s used to flavor the stew.

Roasted Chicken with Harissa

Chinese Salt-Baked Chicken With Congee and Pickled Mustard Greens

Encasing a whole chicken in salt before cooking insulates the bird, allowing for gentle, even cooking and resulting in extra moist meat. In Hainan, the bird is typically prepared in a wok set over low heat, but it can also be baked in the oven, as we do here. You can reuse the salt up to three times for other salt-baked birds; otherwise discard it. Get the recipe for Chinese Salt-Baked Chicken With Congee and Pickled Mustard Greens »

Chicken Cacciatore

Chicken braised with wine and tomatoes is easy enough to put together on a weeknight (this recipe is ready in an hour), and you can adapt it for a whole chicken or your preferred mix of breasts, thighs, or drumsticks. Do go for bone-in meat for a richer and more flavorful sauce. Get the recipe for Chicken Cacciatore »

Roasted Morel-Rubbed Chicken with Charred Lemon, Asparagus, and Potatoes

At chef John Fleer’s restaurant Rhubarb, in Asheville, North Carolina, dried morels are pulverized and rubbed onto the chicken before roasting to perfume the bird and help produce evenly browned skin. Fresh morels soak up the juices released from the chicken as it roasts. If fresh morels are not available, 1 oz. of dried and reconstituted morels will yield about 4 oz. of fresh. Get the recipe for Roasted Morel-Rubbed Chicken with Charred Lemon, Asparagus, and Potatoes »

Sumac Roast Chicken with Lemon and Garlic

Egyptians love tart flavors like the bracing, floral herb sumac, which is rubbed all over this juicy chicken. Get the recipe for Sumac Roast Chicken with Lemon and Garlic »

Poulet Grillé au Gingembre

Amy Thielen’s Improved Roast Chicken

Red Roast Chicken with Lemon and Garlic

Chicken With 40 Cloves of Garlic

Our version of this classic uses peeled garlic; after removing the chicken from the pan, keep cooking the garlic until the cloves have all but melted. Then, a quick spin with a whisk makes a smooth sauce well worth the effort of all that peeling. Get the recipe for Chicken With 40 Cloves of Garlic »

Fricassee Chicken

Got a Whole Chicken? Here’s Where to Start

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