How to Cook a Half Chicken
Oven & Grill Options
Always start with thawed chicken. Don’t panic if your cooked chicken is pink inside after it reaches 165°. A safely cooked chicken may have pink meat due to the hemoglobin in the tissue, which can form a heat-stable color. Cooking methods such as smoking or grilling often produce pink meat.
Save the bones from roasted chicken to make a nourishing broth — perfect for immune support and as a flavorful base for your favorite soup recipe. (Bones from grilled chicken may not be ideal for broth because they tend to impart a strong flavor.)
Preparation
Heat grill on low or preheat oven to 425° F.
While grill or oven is heating up, pat dry:
- 1 half chicken
Coat with:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Sprinkle with:
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt or 1½ teaspoons fine salt
Our pasture-raised chicken is incredibly flavorful with a little salt and nothing more. Optionally, you can also sprinkle it with any or all of the following:
- 1 teaspoon dried poultry seasoning, or ½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- one crushed garlic clove
- zest of one lemon
Choose Your Method:
To grill:
Grill the chicken on low, starting skin side up, flipping every 15 minutes or so. Cook covered for 35-45 minutes, until skin has crisped and thermometer inserted into the innermost part of the thigh reaches 165°. Rest 10 minutes before serving.
To roast:
Place chicken, skin side up, on a rimmed baking sheet or shallow baking dish with at least two inches of breathing room between chicken and sides of dish.
Roast chicken in a preheated 425° F oven for about 20 minutes, until skin has crisped and a thermometer inserted into the innermost part of the thigh reaches 165°. Rest 10 minutes before serving.
Recipe courtesy ThisIsWhatFoodLooksLike.com (coming soon!), adapted for and tested with pastured chicken from Acorn Acres Farm.