Chicken Marbella Recipe – Cooked in a Camp Cast Iron Dutch Oven
Easiest pack-up-and-go recipes. A deep, dark chicken recipe with prunes, capers, and olives in a nice beer marinade.
Tag: chicken
Tenderize, Beer-Brine, and Cook the Easiest and Best Tasting Chicken Breast
How to Tenderize, Beer-Brine, and Cook the Perfect Chicken Breast 3-Part Complete Guide
Cheesy White Chicken Chili Low-and-Slow in a Cast Iron Dutch Oven Recipe
Low-and-Slow Cheesy White Chicken Chili in a Cast Iron Dutch Oven Recipe
This recipe is how you show off your cast iron skills at meal preparation for your family. This is a great Sunday-at-home, all-day-cook, low-and-slow, baby-it’s-cold-outside meal that is easy-easy-easy and will taste like you’ve been…well…cooking it all day.
LINKS TO RELATED RECIPES:
Cast Iron Cream and Beer Cornbread Recipe
Beer Brined Coffee Crusted Pork Roast
I prepare this recipe when the opportunity presents itself. It’s one of my yardarm to yardarm cooks and what I call the Buddy Cook. Let me explain. I love a good low-and-slow cooked pork or beef roast. If I have a roast that I am going to cook in my oven for 6-7 hours, why not cook another, easy-to-make recipe at the same time? After all, it costs the same to cook food in one 5-quart cast iron Dutch oven as it does if there are TWO pots in that oven.
You could create this same recipe in a crock pot. But, you know what…and I can’t put my finger on it…but it does taste different coming out of that cast iron.
We’re going to chop a few ingredients, open a few cans, layer out ingredients, cover that pot and put it in the oven for the next 6-7 hours. Then, we’ll pull it from the oven, shred out chicken, and let it simmer and thicken a bit before we mix in some cheese and serve.
I usually use that simmering time to take care of the food (usually a roast) that I prepared in my other Dutch oven.
My oven is big enough to hold two 5-quart cast iron Dutch ovens or one 5-quart and a 7-quart cast iron Dutch ovens.
The beer to use is a lager-style brew. A Mexican lager is perfect. I found one from Bombastic Brewing with salt and lime. Bombastic is a local brewer here in Idaho and you may not be able to find this same beer. And, that’s okay. Any good Mexican Lager or even many other beers will work perfectly in this recipe. I’d avoid your IPAs, porters, and stouts. Stick with something crips and clean…any easy-drinker should work well.
The Cast Iron
This chili recipe will work perfectly in a 5-Quart Cast Iron Dutch Oven. And, most home ovens will handle two 5-Quart Cast Iron Dutch Ovens at the same time. Many will accommodate a 5-Quart Cast Iron Dutch Oven and a 7-Quart Cast Iron Dutch Oven at the same time.
Here’s how we Low-and-Slow a roast: https://beerandiron.com/low-and-slow-roast/
Truth be known, I’d likely not cook this recipe by itself and all alone in that oven. I’d cook just perfect in a crock pot (speaking truth). But, there’s no reason to Buddy Cook when cooking in an oven all day long. Unless we’re cooking something in our 9-quart cast iron Dutch oven, I will buddy cook every time.
Supplies You May Need (Affiliate Links)
Equipment
Cheese Shredder
Colander to drain and rinse the beans
Cutting board for the peppers, onions, and cilantro or the parsley.
Knife
Whisk
Ingredients
Fresh Stuff
2 or 3 Boneless and Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 Small Purple Onion (a yellow or white is A-OK)
2-4 Minced Cloves of Garlic
2 Poblano Chili Pepper (could substitute bell peppers but those Poblano chilis hold up much better during the long cooking time)
Canned Stuff
1 4-ounce cans of Fire-Roasted Diced Green Chilies (or one 7-ounce can; I prefer mild)
1 Cup of Green Salsa Verde
2 Cans (or 3 cups of home prepared) White Beans
Seasonings
1 teaspoon of Cumin
1 teaspoon of Oregano
½ teaspoon of Garlic Powder
½ teaspoon of Onion Powder
To Thicken
⅓ Cup of White Flour (Optional)
Before Serving
1-2 Cups of Shredded White Cheese or Pepper Jack Cheese folded in.
To Garnish
Chopped Cilantro or Parsley
Lime
Avocado
Cornbread
Time To Cook
Preparation
First, preheat your oven to 200°F or about 93°C. Then prepare all of your ingredients.
Step 1: Dice up the one onion and mince up the 2-4 cloves of garlic.
Step 2: Chop or dice up the 2 Poblano Chili Peppers
Step 3: Rinse and drain the white beans. You can use 2 cans of white beans or use 3 cups of home-prepared white beans. I usually make a plain-Jane batch of beans the day before to have on hand for this recipe and for other uses as well.
Step 4: Prepare the cans of green chili peppers. Just open and set aside.
Step 5: Measure out 1 Cup of Green Salsa Verde.
Step 6: Measure out all of the seasonings and blend together well. Don’t worry about the flour at this point. We’ll talk about the flour in a bit.
Layer the Ingredients
Get out your 5-quart cast iron Dutch oven. There’s no searing or sauteing in this recipe. We will set this up in layers.
Step 7: In the bottom of the 5-quart cast iron Dutch oven, place a layer of onions with the garlic.
Step 8: Add a layer of the Poblano Chili Peppers
Step 9: Add a layer of the drained white beans.
Step 10: Evenly as possible (perfection is not essential), spread out the seasonings on top of the beans.
Step 11: Lay the chicken on top of what we’ve layered thus far. Just lay the chicken breast out flat. Don’t press it down and under the ingredients. Add the chicken with a gentle push to set it flat.
Step 12: Pour over 12-ounces of a Mexican Lager to the pot. You may think you don’t have enough liquid in that pot. Trust me on this one; it’ll seem to liquid-ey by the time you pull it form the oven.
Step 13: Add a layer of the canned chili peppers. The chicken is rounded and expect the chili peppers to kinda slide to the sides.
Step 14: Add the cup of Salsa Verde on top of all the ingredients.
Cook the Chili
Step 15: Cover the pot. Place the full Dutch oven into the preheated 200°F or about 93°C for the next 6-7 hours.
Now, we are going to pull the chili from the oven and place it on the stove top to simmer.
Step 16: After 6-7 hours. Remove the Dutch oven from the oven and place it on the stove top on low heat to continue simmering. It’s going to seem a bit “watery.” Hang on…we’ll tend to that in a bit.
Step 17: Check for saltiness. I usually find that the salt in my canned ingredients provide enough satiness. Nonetheless, this is a good time to check for saltiness and add some if you think it needs it.
Step 18: Pull the chicken from the pot and place it on a cutting board or a larger bowl (expect it to break apart as you are pulling it from the pot). Using two forks, shred the chicken completely. You could chop it, but I like to shred the chicken. Leave a few larger pieces of chicken in there.
Step 19: Before you return the chicken to the pot, ask yourself if the remaining liquid seems a bit too liquid-ey. If so, add ⅓ cup of white flour to thicken things up.
Step 20: Then, return the chicken to the pot. And just let it simmer until dinner time (given your dinner time is within the next 30-45 minutes or so).
Serve the Chili
Prepare the avocados, cheese, and other goodies for dinner as you let the pot simmer and thicken.
Step 21: Fold in 1-2 cups of white shredded cheese into the chili after you take it off the heat and you are ready to start serving. Don’t mix the cheese in; just fold the cheese into the chili.
Time to eat!
Serve this chili with some wedges of avocado and topped with a bit of cilantro or parsley. Squeeze a bit of lime on the top for a bit of a zing to your meal.
I love a nice, big piece of cornbread with my chicken chili.
Summary
If you’ve been following Beer and Iron for any time, you’ll see my pattern of creating recipes with (seemingly) lots of step numbers. I tend to break the simple steps down that most recipe authors include all in one step. There’s nothing wrong with that…it’s just a different way. I like to write recipes out in simple, one-and-a-time, and step-by-step instructions.
And that’s it yall, Low-and-slow Cheesy White Chicken Chili in a Cast Iron Dutch Oven Recipe. If you are going to cook a roast low and slow and there’s room for this chicken chili or maybe another roast, you might as well cook them together.
You all keep on cooking in those cast iron beauties and enjoying those glasses of that fermented barley pop.
We’ll see you next time.
Website: https://beerandiron.com/
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Low-and-Slow Cheesy White Chicken Chili in a Cast Iron Dutch Oven Recipe
I prepare this recipe when the opportunity presents itself. It’s one of my yardarm to yardarm cooks and what I call the Buddy Cook. The BUDDY COOK: I love a good low-and-slow cooked pork or beef roast. If I have a roast that I am going to cook in my oven for 6-7 hours, why not cook another, easy-to-make recipe at the same time? After all, it costs the same to cook food in one 5-quart cast iron Dutch oven as it does if there are TWO pots in that oven.You could create this same recipe in a crock pot. But, you know what…and I can’t put my finger on it…but it does taste different coming out of that cast iron. We’re going to chop a few ingredients, open a few cans, layer out ingredients, cover that pot and put it in the oven for the next 6-7 hours. Then, we’ll pull it from the oven, shred out chicken, and let it simmer and thicken a bit before we mix in some cheese and serve.
Equipment
- Cheese Shredder
- Colander – to drain and rinse the beans
- Cutting Board – for the peppers, onions, and cilantro or the parsley.
- Knife
- Whisk
Ingredients
Fresh Stuff
- 2-3 Boneless and Skinless Chicken Breasts
- 1 Small Purple Onion – a yellow or white is A-OK
- 2-4 Minced Cloves of Garlic
- 2 Poblano Chili Pepper – could substitute bell peppers but those Poblano chilies hold up much better during the long cooking time
Canned Stuff
- 2 Cans 4-ounce cans of Fire-Roasted Diced Green Chilis – or one 7-ounce can; I prefer mild
- 1 Cup Green Salsa Verde
- 2 Cans White Beans – or 3 cups of home prepared White Beans
Seasonings
- 1 teaspoon Cumin
- 1 teaspoon Oregano
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Onion Powder
To Thicken
- ⅓ Cup White Flour Optional
Before Serving
- 1-2 Cups Shredded White Cheese or Pepper Jack Cheese
To Garnish
- Chopped Cilantro or Parsley
- Lime
- Avocado
- Cornbread
Instructions
- First, preheat your oven to 200°F or about 93°C. Then prepare all of your ingredients.
- Dice up the one onion and mince up the 2-4 cloves of garlic.
- Chop or dice up the 2 Poblano Chili Peppers
- Rinse and drain the white beans.
- Prepare the cans of green chili peppers. Just open and set aside.
- Measure out 1 Cup of Green Salsa Verde.
- Measure out all of the seasonings and blend together well.
- Get out your 5-quart cast iron Dutch oven. There’s no searing or sauteing in this recipe. We will set this up in layers.
- In the bottom of the Dutch oven, place a layer of onions with the garlic.
- Add a layer of the Poblano Chili Peppers
- Add a layer of the drained white beans.
- Spread out the seasonings on top of the beans.
- Lay the chicken on top of what we’ve layered thus far. Just lay the chicken breast out flat.
- Pour over 12-ounces of a Mexican Lager to the pot.
- Add a layer of the canned chili peppers.
- Add the cup of Salsa Verde on top of all the ingredients.
- Cover the pot. Place the full Dutch oven into the preheated 200°F or about 93°C for the next 6-7 hours.
- After 6-7 hours in the oven, pull the chili from the oven and place it on the stove top to simmer on low heat.
- Check for saltiness.
- Pull the chicken from the pot and shred the chicken completely. Leave a few larger pieces of chicken in there.
- Before you return the chicken to the pot, add ⅓ cup of white flour to thicken things up (optional)
- Then, return the chicken to the pot. And just let it simmer until dinner time (given your dinner time is within the next 30-45 minutes or so).
- Prepare the avocados, cheese, and other goodies for dinner as you let the pot simmer and thicken.
- Before serving, fold in 1-2 cups of white shredded cheese into the chili after you take it off the heat.
Notes
Serve this chili with some wedges of avocado and topped with a bit of cilantro or parsley. Squeeze a bit of lime on the top for a bit of a zing to your meal.
I love a nice, big piece of cornbread with my chicken chili.
And that’s it yall, Low-and-slow Cheesy White Chicken Chili in a Cast Iron Dutch Oven Recipe. If you are going to cook a roast low and slow and there’s room for this chicken chili or maybe another roast, you might as well cook them together.
You all keep on cooking in those cast iron beauties and enjoying those glasses of that fermented barley pop.
We’ll see you next time.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Cantina Jack Chicken Recipe in a Cast Iron Camp Dutch Oven
Tenderized and Brined Chicken Breasts rolled and centered with Pepper Jack Cheese, buttered, and corn flake-battered on a bed of vegetables all cooked in a Camp Cast Iron Dutch Oven. This is a crowd-pleaser for sure.
Baked Chicken and Beer Rice Recipe in a Camp Cast Iron Dutch Oven
From Fire-to-Plate, I’ll show you how to create this recipe using either Chicken Breast, Bone-in / Skin-on Chicken Thighs, or Skinless / Boneless Chicken Thighs…in a Camp Cast Iron Dutch Oven!
Sulae’s Red Enchilada Beer Sauce – Salsa De Cerveza – Cast Iron Recipe
Sulae’s Red Enchilada Beer Sauce – Salsa De Cerveza Recipe
This recipe goes hand-in-hand with Beer and Iron’s “Let’s Make Enchiladas” Recipe. Here’s the link for that recipe: https://beerandiron.com/lets-make-enchiladas-cast-iron-recipe
This is a quick and easy Enchilada Sauce Recipe that will give your enchiladas a bit of a zip and a zing. It’s red but not considered spicy. This version is mild though it can be spiced up as you like. We’ll keep things on the mild side here at our home.
Though I love tomatoes and sauces made with tomatoes, this enchilada sauce does not have any tomato ingredients.
We’ll start with creating a roux. Do you know what a roux is? What about creating a roux? Here’s the how to: https://beerandiron.com/roux/
There’s a video on that page too.
This is a very simple-to-create recipe with only about 5 (real) steps:
- Mix the dry Ingredients
- Measure the wet Ingredients
- Make the Roux
- Add the Ingredients
- Let it Thicken
A Mason or Ball Jar is handy to store the finished sauce in. This is not a canning recipe; you will need to use your Enchilada sauce right away or store it in the refrigerator. Also, expect some separation when you keep it in the refrigerator. The oils will float, and the solids will sink; FEAR-NOT! A bit of a shake and a stir sets the Enchilada Sauce world right again (one of the reasons cans in the store say “shake well before using”).
You will need a cast iron sauce pot or a smaller-sized Dutch oven or skillet that will hold at least 4 cups (or about a liter or a quart) of liquid but really no bigger than a 5-quart cast iron Dutch oven. A larger skillet will work but I suggest you make sure the skillet will hold all that liquid (do a “dry” run with water to see if you can easily fit 4 cups of water in that skillet; make sure you account for frothing as well).
I have a pocked-up sauce pot that I found in the wild. An Asian piece that has become one of my most beloved pieces. This is the pot I will present this recipe in.
Supplies You May Need (Affiliate Links)
- ¼ Cup Measuring Cup
- ½ Cup Measuring Cup
- 1 Cup Measuring Cup
- 1 Teaspoon Measuring Spoon
- Wooden Spatula or Sauté Paddle: https://amzn.to/3K1g1Cu
- Wire Whisk
- And a Spoon
Ingredients
White Roux
¼ cup avocado oil or olive oil
¼ cup all-purpose flour
The Rest of the Ingredients
½ cup Chili Powder
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika (Optional)
Ground Pepper to Taste
Salt to Taste
12 ounces of Beer (a Mexican Lager will go very well)
1 ½ Cups of Chicken Broth or Stock
Ready to Cook
Set Up
Step 1: Measure out 1 ½ Cups of Chicken Stock or Broth. Have a 12-ounce can of beer out to reach room temperature (that’s about 1 ½ cups of beer). We will need these liquids to be at room temperature because we’ll be adding them to the hot roux and in that hot cast iron later.
Chef Tip: You can use the empty beer can or bottle to “measure” the stock or broth you will be adding to this recipe. 12-Ounces equals 1 ½ Cups.
NOTE: The Beer is a huge part of this recipe and will definitely influence the flavor of the Enchilada Sauce and inevitably the entire recipe. My suggestion is to use a mild Mexican Lager for your beer ingredient. Stay away from hoppy brews or sweeter beers. Start with a mild lager this first time and then experiment with other beers in the future.
Step 2: Measure out the oil and flour for the Roux. Keep these two ingredients separate from the other ingredients as well as separated from each other.
Step 3: Measure out all the other ingredients: ½ cup chili powder, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika, and the pepper (I use about 1 teaspoon of peppercorns then I grind them before putting them in my mixture). These six dry ingredients can be mixed and at the ready for later.
Wait a bit before adding salt.
The Roux
We’ll start with creating a roux. Do you know what a roux is? What about creating a roux? Here’s the how to: https://beerandiron.com/roux/
Step 4: You will need a cast iron sauce pot or smaller Dutch oven that will hold at least 4 cups (or about a liter or a quart) of liquid but really no bigger than a 5-quart cast iron Dutch oven. Heat the cast iron sauce pot or Dutch oven over medium to medium-high heat.
Step 5: Add the ¼ cup of oil to the pre-heating pot. Watch for very light wisps of smoke.
Step 6: Add the flour and keep stirring until the roux begins to give off that beautiful nutty aroma. You are looking for a cream-colored Roux. This only takes a minute or two.
Create the Sauce
Step 7: Slowly add the chicken broth to the roux. Be careful. It’s a cooler liquid being poured into hot oil (speaking simplistically). Stir the broth and roux in well (it may look like it’s “curdling up;” that’s normal).
Step 8: Pour in your beer. Watch for a head or frothing to form.
Step 9: Add all the mixed, dry ingredients (the seasonings and spices) and whisk everything up well. The froth will turn to a pink or reddish color.
Step 10: Reduce the heat a bit and then check for saltiness. Just a little sip from a spoon will tell you what you need to know. Add salt per your taste preferences.
Step 11: Now, let the sauce thicken up. Be sure to scrape the edges every once in a while to remove the thicker stuff that will gather around the edges of the pot while the enchilada sauce simmers and thickens
The sauce should thicken up well in about 10-15 minutes. We are not looking for a cake batter thickness. We need the thickness to be thicker than V-8 Juice or Tomato Juice but as thick or a little thinner than Pizza Sauce.
Note: These “thickness” references are not ingredients for this recipe. I am using them as references. Enchilada sauce thickness preferences are subjective. Thicken to your favor.
And there you have it. Salsa De Cerveza – Sulae’s Red Enchilada Beer Sauce for tonight’s Enchiladas! And, likely some leftovers for tomorrow’s breakfast.
I love this stuff with eggs.
Summary
And that’s it y’all. This is one of my all-time favorite sauces to make. I’ll use it in other recipes too including the Beer and Iron’s “Let’s Make Enchiladas” Recipe: https://beerandiron.com/lets-make-enchiladas-cast-iron-recipe
My name is Sulae and I love to share the magic that comes from my black pots and pans. You all be sure to sign up for the newsletter and I’ll keep my messages short-and-sweet as well as few and far between. You keep on cooking in those cast iron beauties and enjoying those frosted glasses of that fermented barley pop.
We’ll see you next time on beerandiron.com
Website: https://beerandiron.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beerandiron
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Salsa De Cerveza
Sulae’s Red Enchilada Beer Sauce
Equipment
- ¼ Cup Measuring Cup
- ½ Cup Measuring Cup
- 1 Cup Measuring Cup
- 1 Teaspoon Measuring Spoon
- Wooden Spatula or Sauté Paddle
- Wire Whisk
- Spoon
Ingredients
White Roux
- ¼ Cup Avocado oil or olive oil
- ¼ Cup All-purpose flour
The Rest of the Ingredients
- ½ Cup Chili powder / Half-Cup
- 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon Dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika / Optional
- Ground Pepper to Taste / I use a teaspoon of ground peppercorns
- Salt to Taste
- 1 ½ Cups Chicken broth or stock
- 12 Ounces Lager Beer / Mexican Lager or another 'easy-drinker'
Instructions
The Roux
- Heat the cast iron sauce pot or Dutch oven over medium to medium high heat.
- Add the ¼ cup of oil to the pre-heating pot. Watch for very light wisps of smoke.
- Add the flour and keep stirring until the roux begins to give off that beautiful nutty aroma. You are looking for a cream colored Roux. This only takes a minute or two.
Create the Sauce
- Slowly add the chicken broth to the roux. Be careful. It’s a cooler liquid in hot oil (speaking simplistically). Stir the broth and roux in well (it may look like it’s “curdling up;” that’s normal).
- Pour in your beer. Watch for a head or frothing to form.
- Add the spices and keep stirring. You could use a whisk but these ingredients will blend A-OK with the continued stirring.
- Reduce the heat a bit and then check for saltiness. Just a little sip from a spoon will tell you what you need to know. Add salt per your taste preferences.
- Let the sauce thicken up. Be sure to scrape the edges every once in a while to remove the thicker stuff that will gather around the edges of the pot while the enchilada sauce simmers.
- Use right away or store the sauce in the refrigerator until it's gone or it's time to throw away.
Notes
The sauce should thicken up well in about 10-15 minutes. We are not looking for a cake batter thickness. We need the thickness to be thicker than V-8 Juice or Tomato Juice but as thick or a little thinner than Pizza Sauce.
Note: These “thickness” references are not ingredients for this recipe. I am using them as references. Enchilada sauce thickness preferences are subjective. Thicken to your favor.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Butter and Cream Biscuit Recipe in a Camp Cast Iron Dutch Oven
Pillows of the Camp Cast Iron Dutch Oven. An easy recipe for having homemade biscuits in camp. We’ll use Half & Half in our example. This recipe will work with Buttermilk, Kefir, Old Milk, and even Beer and Milk.
Chicken Pot Pie Recipe in the Camp Cast Iron Dutch Oven
Chicken Breast, Lemon, Beer, Capers, and Butter. This is a super-easy recipe for most any night of the week. Easy at home and easy in camp.
Beer and Iron’s Simple Roasted Chicken
Beer and Iron Simple Roasted Chicken
Easy. Simple. Delicious!
The scene is suspenseful; dark and gloomy. The climb down is hard and treacherous. Out of his pocket falls a small box. He reaches out in desperation but to no avail. He calls out to his single companion struggling below to hold on to the rope. They are dangerously exposed on the cliff face. His companion reaches for the small, falling box and loses his grip on the rope. He yells out as he falls back and into the mist below. Luckily, the fall was only a few feet. The companion gathers the box from the ground and examines it. “What’s this?” he asks.
Sam answers Froto: “Nothing. Just a bit of seasonin’. I thought maybe if we was having a roast chicken one night or somethin’.”
Clip from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Plan Ahead
Plan a bit ahead with this recipe. As always, we brine our chicken before roasting. There’s an article on Beer and Iron as well as a video that shows you how to brine a whole chicken: WATCH IT HERE
The next time you go grocery shopping or make an online grocery order, pick up a whole chicken. Most grocery store chickens are about 3-4 pounds (1.5 kilograms). As soon as you get home and settled, set that whole chicken to brine. Yes, that same evening.
Here are two links WITH VIDEOS on brining meats (chickens are in the examples given). Trust me when I say: brine the chicken. It will not disappoint.
The Hot Method: https://beerandiron.com/basic-beer-brine-template-recipe/
The Cold Method: https://beerandiron.com/how-to-beer-brine-whole-chicken/
Here’s another way to Roast Chicken: https://beerandiron.com/roasted-beer-brined-chicken-cast-iron-dutch-oven-on-grass-straw-hay/
Let’s Get Started
And a roasted chicken sure does sound good for tonight. Roasted chicken seems to be a simple thing; yes, it does. Put the chicken in the oven at 350°F / 177°C and cook it for 20 minutes per pound and until the juices run clear. You and I both know it’s not that easy. Naw, it ain’t that easy; and that’s why Costco sells 100 million rotisserie chickens every year out of over 625 million sold each year in the USA. That’s like 2 grocery store-cooked chickens for every person in the USA each year.
Someone ate my two chickens!
I am going to share with you how I create the perfect roasted chicken each and every time. It’s going to be crispy, it’s going to be juicy, and it’s going to be evenly roasted. And best of all, it’s going to be easy. But it’s going to take a bit of planning (there’s always a “but”). But, don’t let that bit of planning sway you back to Costco for that plastic-packaged over-cooked rotisserie chicken, this ain’t near the work or planning you think it is.
The secret to the perfect roasted chicken is this: preparation and a bit of planning. Just telling y’all how it is. It’s really not that much preparation. I am just like you: BUSY! BUSY! BUSY! There are times when I don’t have a clue what’s for dinner; and then comes the “where do y’all want to go eat at?” question.
Meal planning seems to be a hassle. And it is. But mealtime experiences are usually the pinnacle of our evenings and time together as a family. I find myself planning out a day or three down the calendar to make sure I’ve got some ideas. And, if you follow this recipe and plan, you’ll have a perfectly roasted chicken and be ready for dinner by the time everyone is ready for their after-work and after-school meal.
Ready to Cook
Step 1: Brine the Chicken.
2-5 days before you plan to roast your chicken, set the whole chicken in the brine (follow the links for either the cold brine method or the hot brine method). Place that brining chicken in the refrigerator and let it rest there. Move it about each day or so to make sure the salt stays stirred up and the chicken evenly brines.
Start with the cold method of brining. You’ll have that chicken out of the grocery store bag and packing and in the brine in less than 10 minutes. IT’S EASY!
Start your brining journey with a 2-day brine. I can’t “taste” what salty taste like to you. So, start with 2 days and if the chicken tasted perfectly salted and juicy then you have your brine time that works for you. If it was lacking a bit of saltiness and flavor, next time add a day to the brine time and see how things go. Read more about saltiness here: https://beerandiron.com/salt-to-taste/
Step 2: Remove the Chicken from the Brine.
When you are ready to cook your chicken. Pull it down and leave it in the brine about an hour or two before you start your chicken to roasting. When you are about 10 or 15 minutes from ready to put the chicken in the oven, start the following steps.
Chef Tip: I will usually call my wife to pull the chicken down even before I get home from work. Or, I will pull it down as soon as I get home and let it “warm up” as I change and “get the day off of me.”
Step 3: Set your oven to preheat to 350°F / 177°C
When you are ready to get busy and cook this chicken and while your oven is preheating, gather your 5-quart cast iron Dutch oven or skillet. Get your trivets ready.
We are going to cook this without a lid on the Dutch oven.
Step 4: Remove the chicken from the brine and pat dry the chicken with paper towels.
Set the dripping chicken on a tray with paper towels underneath the chicken while you pat dry the chicken. Watch the fluid “hiding” in the cavity; it’ll spill out everywhere.
It does not have to be bone dry. All you need is to dry the brine from the chicken and before you apply the oil to the chicken skin.
Step 5: Truss the chicken.
Chicken has so many different “thicknesses.” And, by the time the depths of the breast or the thigh joint has reached doneness, the leg and wing have long since been cooked and has likely reached an over-cooked state. Trussing the chicken draws everything in and keeps the parts-and-pieces dress-right-dress. Trussing promotes an evenly cooked chicken.
How do you truss a chicken you ask? There’s a video of this whole process above; if you still have problems trussing the chicken, let me know. It’s not hard…once you’ve done it a few times…but…it’s hard the first time!
Trussing is optional. Your chicken will roast just fine if you do not. It’ll be less than perfect but it will be AMAZING nonetheless.
Step 6: Oil the outside of the chicken.
You will not need much oil at all. Oiling the chicken skin will help that skin to crisp up and work like a “sack.” That “sack” will hold that moisture better. You will even see that sack-like nature when you pull the roasted chicken from the oven and see the skin “deflate” as the air temperature changes from the oven to the air of your kitchen.
Step 7: Using your 5-quart cast iron Dutch oven, set a trivet in the bottom.
Most all chickens from the grocery store will fit nice and neat in a 5-quart cast iron Dutch oven. You need some air space all around the chicken while it’s in the Dutch oven.
For you fine folks that grow your own chicken, you may need to consider a 7-quart or a 9-quart Dutch oven. The size of the chicken will determine the size of the Dutch oven you will need.
I use a trivet for this recipe. Not too many folks have a good trivet. If you don’t have one, then get one here:
I have two of these and use them all the time. They also work GREAT as bacon presses and don’t let moisture build up under them like most presses causing all that popping and grease stinging.
A trivet is optional. I want the chicken not to be in direct contact with the heat and cook evenly. I usually use TWO trivets like in the video.
Step 8: Set the whole, trussed, oiled chicken on that trivet inside the cast iron Dutch oven.
I don’t use a lid for this recipe. I leave it open to air at the same 350°F / 177°C the whole time. Some will suggest heating up the oven to a very high temperature and letting it “seal” or “sear” in the moisture. But, we do just fine at one constant temperature.
This is where you are free to add anything else to the pot along with that chicken. Sometimes we’ll put spriggles of thyme, rosemary, or whole cloves of garlic. These additional will add to the flavor of the chicken.
If you do add something to the pot with the chicken, make sure it will both tolerate the longer cook time and finish cooking at the same time your chicken is done. If not, add it later in the cook. Most of the time, when we add something to the pot with the chicken, we add those ingredients as flavor ingredients.
Step 9: Set the chicken in the oven without a lid.
Just pick a middle shelf in your oven and set it in there but close enough to the door to reach it with our temperature probe.
Step 10: Insert a meat thermometer temperature probe to the thickest part of the breast.
We set the thermometer probe into the thickest part of the breast, but we don’t go all the way down to the bone. We stick the temperature probe about 2/3rds the thickness of the chicken breast. If you hit the bone, just pull back a bit and you’re A-OK.
The wired thermometer keeps life easy! Trust me on this one. We use this Wireless Meat Thermometer to keep from guessing when the chicken is done. I don’t have to open the oven door but once and that’s to use my other meat thermometer to do a double check.
I am writing this article as my chicken cooks now. I don’t have to do anything while the chicken cooks but wait on that “beeping” from my device.
I also use this with my Camp Chef camp cast iron Dutch ovens when cooking outdoors. It’s something I suggest.
All of my links are affiliate links and I appreciate you all if you chose to click and purchase from these links. Disclaimer: I use each and every item I link you to. And, I try not to fluff up the links. I want this website to be about the food and not a bunch of pop up ads and videos.
Step 11: Roast until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165°F / 74°C
This is a tricky step. If you have ever cooked a whole, roasted chicken and find that there is still some “pink” in the center, you know the struggle is real. The breast reads “165” and the thigh joint reads “148.” Dang it!!
We are assured the chicken is completely done by the initial breast meat temperature reaching 165°F / 74°C. Then, we pull it from the oven and double check with our other meat thermometer.
Step 12: Remove the chicken from the oven and check the temperature at the inner thigh to make sure the chicken is thoroughly cooked.
You can check with the same temperature probe you cooked with. It’s a little sluggish on quick reads. We have this 2nd meat thermometer to make sure.
If the breast meat and the inner thigh joint are at 165°F / 74°C, we are sure the chicken is completely cooked and ready to eat.
And that’s all there is to it. Now you have a perfectly roasted chicken.
Beer Pairing
Roasted Chicken is a light-colored meat. So, stick with a light-colored beer. Hey, I ain’t making that up. Try it. But, take some more advice: Stick with a nice Pale Lager, Helles Bock, and Helles Lager; these are excellent choices.
And though a bit darker in color but excellent with roasted chicken: Amber Lager, Vienna Lager, and Märzen are good choices as well. Many ales go well with roasted chicken like the blonde ale, wheat ale, and Kölsch.
Golden Lagers (bottom fermented at cooler temperatures) and Golden Ales have similar characteristics (with lagers always being clear). Golden Ales will be a bit bitter but not too much. Golden Lagers have a tad bit of sweetness that definitely will not overwhelm, nor will it linger.
And if a not-too-bitter golden ale “calls” you from your beer fridge, then a golden ale will not disappoint with this meal. If a Pilsner is all you have, it will not disappoint either.
A bit of trivia: Where did lagers get their name? Going back to the 1600’s, lagers were brewed during the colder months and lagered for the summer months. Lager beers were lagered…meaning stored.
It’s BOTH! An entrée and an Ingredient
This recipe will produce a nice, juicy, roasted chicken that can either be served whole or can be deboned and used in different recipes. It will add so much to any chicken-as-an-ingredient recipe.
There’s not much that will not go well with whole, roasted chicken.
Roasted Carrots
Mashed Potatoes
Green Beans
Roasted or Mashed Cauliflower
Asparagus
Potatoes au Gratin
Fettuccine Alfredo
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Garlic Baby Potatoes.
Garden Salad
Mac and Cheese
Sweet Potatoes
Corn on the Cob
BREAD!
Scalloped Potatoes
Can you think of anything that does not work as a side with roasted chicken?
Consider getting creative with these sides. Cauliflower, yeah! But what about Roasted Herb & Lemon Cauliflower or Garlic and Rosemary Brussels Sprouts?
Herbs that go well with Roasted Chicken
Hands down, my favorite herb to use with chicken is sage. I love, love, love the flavor of sage and chicken. Thyme is my next go-to with rosemary being an equal love of mine.
Other herbs and vegetables go well with chicken such as cilantro, oregano, marjoram, tarragon, garlic, and lemon (though lemon is really a fruit).
Marjoram and Tarragon are not my go-to herbs but some recipes call for these two herbs and if I am preparing the whole chicken as an ingredient for other recipes, I will use one or both with my chicken.
Beer To Use In This Recipe
The beer ingredient in this recipe is added during the brine. Most any light-colored, easy-on-the-bitterness beer will work. When you start out brining for this recipe, or any chicken that you plan to brine, use a lighter-colored, easy-to-drink beer and then experiment from there.
I often use a nice citrusy beer with this recipe.
I love craft beer and appreciate the craft beer’s value. They are more expensive than big-brewery beers. And, truth be known, many of them big-brewery beers ain’t too bad to drink. If that’s all I have or have been offered, I’ll enjoy that big-brewery beer and the friends I am enjoying it with.
Less expensive, easy-to-drink beer works very, very well for brining chicken. Consider Corona, Modelo, or even a DosXX. You will not be disappointed in how this chicken will turn out. Not to mention, that brine will not deplete your craft beer stock nor break the bank.
24 12-ounce Coronas at my local market right now costs about $26.88. I venture to say that 24 12-ounce craft beers would be 3 times that much.
Lastly, don’t think that using a beer that you consider inferior as a drinking beer will be a bad brining beer. Not in the least. They actually make for BETTER brining beers. Craft beer takes brewing to new flavor heights and we love craft beer and the brewers who toil over perfection.
However, these delicious flavor notes may cause the chicken to taste a bit off. Stick with a plain-Jane brew (sorry you Janes…I ain’t talking about you but other Janes).
Avoid dark beers, sweet beers, and beers with a high IBU. The IBU is the International Bitters Unit which is a measurement of how bitter or hoppy the beer will taste.
The Cast Iron
5 or 7-Quart Cast Iron Dutch Oven (a 5-quart will work for most every chicken you pick up from the market).
The size of the Dutch oven depends on the size of your chicken. I have a Vintage Cast Iron 10-quart Sportsman Fish Fryer with the Griddle cast iron lid that I use when I want to roast two chickens at the same time. After all, the energy and time it takes to cook one chicken in the oven is the same if you put two in the oven.
Most ovens will accommodate two 5-quart cast iron Dutch ovens and even a 5-quart and a 7-quart at the same time.
The Supplies
I have included some affiliate links:
Larger Zipper Storage Bag: https://amzn.to/3wCz6Ek
Bowl to hold the brining chicken while it’s in the refrigerator.
Meat Thermometer (Optional): https://amzn.to/3wCnS2o
Butcher’s Twine (Optional if you plan to truss): https://amzn.to/3HDjJBw
Ingredients:
36 Ounces of Beer (for the brine)
3 Tablespoons of Salt (for the brine)
NOTE: This is the basic brine. You can create a brine either using the cold method or the hot method. Yes! I do have a how-to article and video for both!
4 Pound Whole Chicken give or take a few ounces (or even a pound).
2-3 Tablespoons of Oil to Coat the Chicken Before Roasting
Chef Tip 1: Chicken is considered “done” at 165°F / 74°C. Because chicken has different parts with varying thickness, be sure to check the chicken at a few other spots to make sure it’s done.
Chef Tip 2: The truth be known: it takes the same energy to cook one chicken as it does to cook two. We will cook a chicken in two 5-quart Dutch ovens at the same time. I have a large Fish Fryer Pot that I set the two trivets and chickens in; one on one side and one on the other. They fit perfectly. I found my used, so keep your eye out for one:
Chef Tip 3: Don’t toss the bones, innards, or skin…MAKE A BROTH (How to Coming Soon).
Summary
There you go! Now, what do you think? It’s really as easy as brine, roast, and enjoy (with a few days in between).
Yes, there is very little difference between this recipe and our Chicken On Grass Recipe.
We roast chicken all the time mainly for the chicken to be used in an ingredient in Gumbo, Chicken Stew, Chicken Enchiladas, and so much more.
Let me know what you think and how your roasted chicken turned out.
Easy and Simple Beer Brined Roasted Chicken
Easy and Simple, BEER-BRINED, Roasted CHICKEN COOKED IN A CAST IRON DUTCH OVEN
Equipment
- 5 or 7 Quart Cast Iron Dutch Oven Depends on the size of your chicken
- Larger Zipper Storage Bag To Brine In
- Larger Bowl To hold the brining chicken while it’s in the refrigerator.
- Meat Thermometer Optional
- Butcher's Twine
Ingredients
The Brine
- 36 Ounces Beer Light colored lager or ale with less bitterness
- 3 TBLS Salt Kosher is best
The Chicken Roast
- 1 Whole Chicken 4 Pound (Give or Take)
- 2 TBLS Oil Any oil will do. Use this to coat the chicken.
Instructions
Brine The Chicken 2-5 Days Before Roasting
- Create your brine – In The Zipper Bag, add the 32 ounces of beer and then add the 3 Tablespoons of Salt. It will foam up!
- Remove the chicken from the market packaging and remember to remove anything from the cavity of the chicken.
- Place the chicken in the brine. Do not truss your chicken yet. Just the whole, raw chicken into the beer brine.
- Store the brining chicken in the refrigerator for two to five days.
Ready To Cook
- Remove the Chicken from the Refrigerator about an hour or two before you are ready to cook.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F / 177°C.
- Remove the chicken from the brine and pat dry the chicken with paper towels.
- Truss the chicken with the butcher’s twine.
- Use the oil to coat the outside of the chicken.
- Using your 5-quart cast iron Dutch oven, set a trivet in the bottom.
- Set the whole, trussed, oiled chicken on that trivet inside the cast iron Dutch oven.
- Set the Chicken in the Oven Without a Lid.
- Use a temperature probe to the thickest part of the breast.
- Roast until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165°F / 74°C
- Remove the chicken from the oven and check the temperature the inner thigh to make sure the chicken is thoroughly cooked.
Notes
Chef Tip 1: The 2nd best place to make sure the chicken is done through and through is the inner thigh area near the breast but not touching bone.
Chef Tip 2: The truth be known: it takes the same energy to cook one chicken as it does to cook two. We will cook a chicken in two 5-quart Dutch ovens at the same time. I have a large Fish Fryer Pot that I set the two trivets and chickens in; one on one side and one on the other. They fit perfectly.
Chef Tip 3: I will usually call my wife to pull the chicken down even before I get home from work. Or, I will pull it down as soon as I get home and let it “warm up.”
Chef Tip 4: Don’t toss the bones, innards, or skin…MAKE A BROTH
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Now We’re Cooking With Grass
Roasted, Beer-Brined Whole Chicken Cooked in a Cast Iron Dutch Oven on Grass, Straw, or Hay. Nutty, earthy aroma and flavors.
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