Incredible Dutch Oven Whole Roasted Chicken

Incredible dutch oven whole roasted chicken made with an orange spice rub.  The chicken sits atop a bed of potatoes, onion, carrots, apples, and oranges. It’s a one pot meal phenomenon.

****You can scroll on down to the recipe if you don’t want to read the intro.

Ever wonder who has their wisdom teeth extracted later in life? I present to you… this girl! Yes my friends, I’m THAT woman who waited until she was 48 years old to have her wisdom teeth extracted. Fresh out of oral surgery. Looking not so fresh,  a bit dazed and confused, and well, sorta “chipmunk cheek-y.” (Disregard the chicken neck.)

I can’t really give an answer as to why. Years ago my dentist recommended I have them pulled. The cynic I am thought he was just trying to get easy money out of a needless routine surgery. They never really bothered me, so why should I bother them?

That was until recently, when I began having dental issues and some cavities that needed tending to. My dentist didn’t leave me much choice. He said he couldn’t tend to my other issues until my wisdom teeth came out. He referred me to an oral surgeon and the rest is history.

You might be wondering at this point, what any of this has to do with a Dutch Oven Whole Roasted Chicken. And to that I say, not much. Other than the fact that I just felt like sharing my story with you. For those of you that couldn’t care less, feel free to skip right on down to the recipe.

For all two of you that might want to hear the rest of my story it goes a little something like this… I was terrified of having my wisdom teeth pulled. Days before the surgery, I obsessed about how much pain I would be in.

My Oral Surgeon expressed to me at my consultation that my procedure would be done in office and that I would be under IV sedation. But in my crazy mind I had imagined that while I would be relaxed, I would hear drills and cracking noises, staring up at the ceiling all wide eyed and terrified…confident the novocaine would wear off, and I would feel every cut, yank and pull. All the while, unable to signal anything because of the paralyzed state I was in.

I went into surgery two days ago a Nervous Nellie. The lovely assistants walked me back to the procedure room after they stripped me of my phone and gave it to Mr. Kitchen Prescription for safe keeping. Wait! What!? No connection to the outside world!? How ever would I communicate with anyone? No social media updates in recovery? Were they afraid I might text or post something inappropriate post anesthesia? On second thought, good move ladies.

They proceeded to walk me back to the procedure room where what waited for me looked like my green vinyl electrocution chair, which they fastened me in to. The surgeon was gloving and prepping my medications for my IV sedation. He greeted me reassuringly and began to search for a vein on my arm to start the IV.  After finally locating a winner, he inserted the needle, got a blood return, advanced the catheter, and secured it with tape, and opened up the Normal Saline drip. “That’s the worst of it” he said.

Liar! How dare he insult my intelligence like that? I began questioning him about the medications as he walked over with a syringe to push in the IV port. “Is that Versed?” “No, no, this is to dry up your secretions. Robinul” He knew I was a Registered Nurse. He stated he would be giving me maintenance doses of Propofol, a hypnotic, during the procedure.

He began pushing more medication into the IV port. “Now this is your Versed.” As we looked out the window 8 floors above sunny Fort Lauderdale, he made small talk, something about the weather, while his assistants hooked me up to an EKG, pulse oximeter, and blood pressure monitor. He wasn’t fooling me with the small talk. I felt like a lab experiment going horribly wrong.

“How long will it take for the meds to take effect?” I asked him. “Shouldn’t be too much longer.” As soon as he said that, I felt my head start spinning. “Ok. I feel this now,” I said. This should be soon I thought to myself.

I’m just going to focus on what my vital signs are. My blood pressure must be through the roof given how terrified I am right now. I focused on the monitor in front of me as I felt the blood pressure cuff squeeze tight around my arm. I never saw the final reading. Out  C.O.L.D. Never even knew what hit me!

The next thing I remember was coming to and the surgeon sitting at a small desk in front of me writing something. I looked at him and mumbled some garble. I think I asked “Am I all done now?” Which I’m sure he heard, “Did the cat eat the litter box?”

“Try not to speak at all.” He said. Determined, I tried to mouth something again. My head was still a bit fuzzy. He interrupted me. “Don’t speak,” he said once again. By that time, I realized I had a mouth full of gauze, so I got the feeling I should just zip it. I was slowly becoming more aware of myself and my surroundings.

The first thing I noticed, I wasn’t in any pain. I felt around my mouth and couldn’t feel anything except swollen lips with my fingers. My ginormous lips had no feeling when I tried to bite them. None. Not even a tingle. The assistants began unhooking me from all the cords and tubes and gave me a blanket and left me to rest.

I felt an uncontrollable urge to cry. I didn’t feel sad, or in any pain. Why did I feel like crying? I remember I began to whimper. One of the assistants came back in to check on me and I motioned to her that I needed to write something.

She gave me a post it note and pen. Not even knowing if I could assemble a sentence, much less spell correctly at that point, I scribbled, this medication makes me want to cry. She looked at my scratchy note and laughed a little bit. “It’s okay. The medication makes people feel like that sometimes. Go ahead and cry.” So I did. Several times.

A few minutes later, they paraded Mr. Kitchen Prescription back and gave me my discharge instructions, making sure they spoke to him instead of me. Another good move. They gave me my prescriptions for an antibiotic and pain medication and wheeled me out to the car. Luckily, the anesthesia lasted well into the evening before it wore off.

The lesson here folks? There is nothing to fear except fear itself! I mean, I literally had minimal pain that evening and yesterday I was even on the beach relaxing. Crooked smile and all!

While I am aware that there is some associated pain and swelling in my mouth and I feel a bit tired, I am able to eat and feel great for the most part. Kudos to Dr. Roland Hernandez and his professional staff for doing such a great job.

I’m not sure why I was such a chicken. Oh wait! Chicken, that’s how it all ties in after all! I won’t waste any more of your time with why you should eat this chicken, except it’s really really good. And you should roast it in your Dutch oven. Here’s why.

Lately, I’ve been obsessed with orange everything. Like my last recipe, Orange Crunch Cake.  The oranges here in south Florida have been at their peak ripeness.

So juicy and sweet. I can’t get enough of them. Mr. Kitchen Prescription thinks I’m hoarding them in the fridge. Which I am.

Dutch Oven Whole Roasted Chicken Recipe:

Earlier this week, before I had my surgery I made a killer whole roasted chicken in my Lodge Cast Iron Dutch Oven. The orange inspired spice rub imparted a great flavor to the chicken as it roasted in it’s own juices over a bed of fresh fruits and veggies. I just love one pot meals!

Rub recipe is adapted from Comfortably Domestic food blog.SaveSave

Dutch Oven Whole Roasted Chicken With Orange Spice Rub

Recipe Type: Dinner

Cuisine: One Pot Meal

Author: Sherri @ The Kitchen Prescription

Nothing beats a one pot meal like a whole roasted chicken. Rub adapted from Comfortably Domestic.

Ingredients

• For The Rub:
• 4 Tablespoons of Kosher or Sea Salt
• 4 Tablespoons of Brown Sugar
• 3/4 tsp fresh chopped Rosemary leaves
• 3/4 tsp fresh chopped Thyme leaves
• 1 1//2 tsp paprika
• 3/4 tsp black pepper
• 3/4 tsp garlic salt
• 3/4 tsp onion salt
• zest of one whole orange (preferably organic)
• FOR THE CHICKEN
• One 4 lb. whole organic or minimally processed chicken
• 5 Tablespoons butter
• FOR THE FRUIT & VEGGIES
• 1 Whole sliced orange
• 1/4 sliced apple
• 1 medium yellow onion cut into chunks
• 2 small crushed garlic cloves
• 2 celery stalks
• 1 whole sweet potato sliced thick
• 1 whole white potato sliced thick
• 1/2 bag of baby carrots
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup chicken stock

Instructions

1. The night before, mix up your dry rub. Remove any innards of chicken, rinse and pat dry. Begin by seasoning the underside of the chicken. Turn over and season under the skin of the breasts well. Rub seasoning inside the cavity. Rub rest of seasoning all over the top of the chicken, wings and legs. Take 2 tablespoons of butter and put under skin of chicken breasts on each side. Carefully replace skin. Set aside chicken.
2. Peel and slice potatoes thick, about 1/4 inch thick. Same with apple and orange slices. Put a small clove of smashed garlic inside the chicken cavity with a few small apple slices, celery, onion and orange slices. Tie up legs.
3. Layer a bed of onion, the smashed garlic cloves, celery, carrots, apples, orange slices and potatoes in bottom of dutch oven. Squeeze some of the orange slices over the potatoes to keep from browning. Salt and Pepper to taste. Lay the chicken breast side up over the bed of veggies and potatoes. Cover with lid and refrigerate over night.
4. When ready to bake. Preheat oven to 450 degrees and let chicken to room temperature for about one half hour before baking. Pour about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of chicken stock in bottom of dutch oven, careful not to pour it over the chicken and wash off the rub. Place uncovered on bottom rack in oven for 20 minutes and bake. After 20 minutes, reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. At one hour mark melt remaining 3 tablespoons of butter and baste over top and side of chicken. Continue baking until a meat thermometer inserted into the deepest part of the breast, careful not to touch any bone, reads 165 degrees. Remove from oven. A 4 pound chicken typically takes about one and a half to two hours of baking time. But it’s best to rely on a thermometer. Remove the chicken carefully from the dutch oven and transfer to a plate and tent with tin foil and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes to redistribute the juices. Cover the veggies & potatoes with the lid to keep warm.
5. Slice chicken and spoon out veggies and potatoes into a bowl and serve. Will feed 2 to 3 people.

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