Whole Chicken Recipes

By Food & Wine
Updated February 20, 2018
Credit: © John Kernick
Cooking a whole chicken doesn't have to be difficult--it makes the perfect weeknight dinner, and is something your whole family will love. Whether you crave Tex-Mex flavor or want a classic roasted version, these are our best recipes.
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Kewpie-Marinated Chicken


Credit: John Kernick
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A simple combination of lime, cumin, hot paprika and Kewpie mayo is the secret to a pretty fine-tasting grilled chicken from Food & Wine’s Justin Chapple.

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Roast Chicken with Sausage and Peppers

Credit: © John Kernick
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F&W's Justin Chapple combines all of the classic flavors of an Italian sausage sub in this fun and delicious roast chicken dish.

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Roast Chicken with Salsa Verde and Roasted Lemons

Credit: Con Poulos
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This crisp and juicy roast chicken from star chef Jonathan Waxman of NYC's Jams is perfect with his chunky seven-herb salsa verde.

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Garlic Grilled Chicken


Credit: Julian Broad
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Chef José Catrimán of La Granja in Ibiza, Spain, serves these simple whole grilled chickens in the summer when he’s entertaining for a crowd. Instead of spatchcocking, a process that involves splitting a whole chicken along the backbone to get it to lay flat, he splits the chicken through the breast. This reversed process helps the bird cook more quickly and evenly, giving you juicy, perfectly cooked light and dark meat.

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Butter-Roasted Chicken with Soy-Garlic Glaze

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F&W's Kay Chun rubs an Asian-spiced butter under chicken skin before roasting to create an incredibly juicy and delicious bird.

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Roast Chicken with Pickled Fennel and Candied Walnuts

Credit: © Tara Pearce
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The tart fennel and sweet walnuts here make this roast chicken especially good. The orange dressing has nutty flavor, too, because it's spiked with walnut oil.

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Whole Roast Chicken with 40 Brussels Sprouts

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When F&W's Kay Chun roasts chicken, she adds brussels sprouts to the roasting pan so they absorb the fantastic flavor of the caraway-infused chicken juices.

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Chicken with Port and Figs

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Dried figs are poached in port to make a luscious Portuguese-inspired sauce. Ruby port provides the best color, but tawny will also taste good.

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Pan-Roasted Chicken with Corn Relish

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This one-skillet recipe is based on a dish Cathal Armstrong's father, Gerry, made when Armstrong was growing up in Dublin, with a big difference. "We only got fresh corn for our birthdays. Otherwise it was frozen."

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Chicken alla Diavola

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Salvatore Denaro's pollo alla diavola ("devil's-style chicken") is intensely seasoned. Two days prior to cooking, Denaro infuses white wine vinegar with a big bunch of dried Sicilian oregano for a marinade. Then he seasons the marinated chicken with an exotic herb mixture, or condimento, that includes Turkish bay laurel ("the only kind to use," Denaro says) and myrtle leaves. Feel free to experiment with a variety of herbs for the condimento. Pollo alla diavola is traditionally grilled over wood embers, but the chicken may also be grilled over a charcoal or gas fire, or broiled in an oven.

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Julia's Favorite Roast Chicken

Credit: CON POULOS
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Julia Child seasoned this roast chicken inside and out by packing sauteed vegetables, lemon slices and fresh herbs into the cavity, then rubbing the skin with butter. In typical French fashion, she trussed the bird to promote even cooking.

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Roast Chicken with Tangerines

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This six-pound bird yields a lot of meat. But if you want even more, get a capon (a castrated rooster). They're quite huge: nine to 11 pounds. (You'll have to increase the amount of ingredients relative to the size of the bird, which will also take longer to cook.) Eugenia Bone gets capons from dartagnan.com.

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Spice-Rubbed Roast Chicken with Two Sauces

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At his new chicken-focused restaurant in Atlanta, Bantam + Biddy, Shaun Doty uses an Old Hickory rotisserie to cook his birds, which are coated with a lemony fennel-seed rub. The choice of sauces to serve alongside includes smoky piri piri and Dominican wasakaka,made with onion, chiles and herbs.

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Poached Chicken with Fragrant Herb Vinaigrette

Credit: © John Kernick
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The gingery vinaigrette for this chicken is so dense with herbs, it's practically a salad. F&W's Kay Chun serves the dish with the nourishing broth alongside for sipping.

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