Let me first start out by saying: I wouldn’t recommend this if you are short on time or if you have a little one running back and forth between your legs demanding attention. In the end, though- it was TOTALLY worth it.
This was one of those moments where my line “because being a mom can be madness” comes into play. Here I am trying to rub and stuff a chicken, gross, and my little Tinkapotamus (aka Julia) wants me to play. She wedges herself between the counter/cabinet and pushes on my legs so I will walk away. I’m pretty sure the words “Girl, you are gonna get chicken juice all over your face!” were uttered a few times.
So, I would recommend this particular recipe for when you have a little more time to spare. I’m sure if you wanted to just do a regular whole chicken in the magical cauldron, it’s totally fine- but this one, with all the prep work, spices, and flipping- nope. I’ll try an easier whole chicken recipe next week and then we can compare.
Now, with all of that being said- this was soooo worth the time. The meat was super tender and amazingly juicy! The flavor was incredible. To top it off, it was so much faster than actually roasting in the oven. This would be an amazing centerpiece platter if you had friends over for dinner because it comes out so beautiful.
Enough jibber jabber- on to the recipe!
Lemon Rosemary Chicken
Here’s what you’ll need:
Instant Pot
cutting board
small mixing bowl
measuring spoons
measuring cup
a set of tongs or something to handle the hot chicken with (flipping etc)
a pretty dish to display your masterpiece
your Instant Pot trivet insert
Ingredients
1 whole 6lb organic chicken (you can use 4lb cooking time will be about 20-25 mins)
1 Tbsp. of virgin coconut oil
1 tsp. of paprika
1 1/2 cups of chicken broth/stock
1 tsp. of dried thyme
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. sea salt
2 lemons
1 sweet onion
3 sticks of celery
6 cloves garlic, peeled
3 or 4 springs of rosemary
handful of cherry tomatoes
some lemon juice on hand doesn’t hurt
Yes, there’s an avocado peeping around. I was going to slice it up and put it with the chicken when plated- but a little someone wanted to eat it- and no it wasn’t me.Put your chicken in a dish or platter that will not make a juicy mess.Peel your garlic.Chop up your celerySlice up your onion. You will only want about 3 big slices and leave a bigger chunk b/c we are going to put that inside the chicken.For your lemon: slice up one lemon into lots of medium slices. The second lemon just cut into three parts.Put the garlic cloves under the skin. If you don’t like garlic- you can add a little bit of garlic powder to the spice rub we are going to make further along and bypass this part.Now to make your rub a dub dub. I LOVE this type of paprika. If anything ever needs a hint of color I will sprinkle this on top or my dried parsley flakes.1 tsp. of paprika. Check!1 tsp. of dried thyme. Check! (Yes, I know the pics are a little backwards, but I needed to tell you about the paprika first. Shush it!)1/4 tsp. of ground black pepper. Check!1/4 tsp. of sea salt. (Or if you aren’t fancy- reg salt will do just fine- like mine)Mix it all up!Smack it up, flip it, rub it down! (if you know where this is from- yaaasss- if not, it’s ok I still love you)Turn your pot on so that you can melt your coconut oil.Drop in a heap of coconut oil. I put a little more than required- it won’t hurt it.When your oil is nice and shimmering. Give it the bird -breast down. Let it sauté for about 6-7 minutes.Getting this girl out was interesting. I just grabbed it by the shoulders/wings.Here’s where we get personal. Shove in some celery, half of a lemon and the big chunk of onion. If it doesn’t all fit- cut up your items and re-shove.Put in your trivet. I also began adding some celery there too.Now put in your bird. Breast up.Take your lemon slices and distribute – save the ends. I put one in between each wing and on top of each leg. Place a few on the breast. Toss in your onions and cherry tomatoes. Place the sprigs of rosemary on top. You can save one for decor later if you want. It looks so pretty already.Use the ends (if you can) to sprinkle some lemon on top. I also squeezed a little of the saved half but not too much because we will need that to top it off when served.Save these!Add your chicken broth/stock!Now- here- you could add in some more lemon juice to your chicken broth/stock. I think I might do that next time.Secure your lid!! Set to seal.Pressure cook on high for 35 mins. I think 30 mins would also be ok. If you are doing a 4lb bird 25 mins is perfect.These babies saved me from burning myself lol. If you don’t have some- highly recommended. Y’all know what I like to do when the Pot is doing its magic- CLEAN UP!! I washed the original dish I put the noncooked bird in and put away all the spices. I even cleared my counter space.Your bird is done! You want to do a quick release. Take out the sprigs of rosemary- you can reuse these as decor. Also the lemons- they might be salvageable. Your cherry tomatoes will be at the bottom. More on that later. This chicken will be so tender it may fall off the bone. SO! Take both sides of the trivet and slowly lift. The juices and stuffing may fall out so please be careful. I lost a wing but was able to make it look tucked back on- ha! Just take your time on getting it out.As I said, your cherry tomatoes will be at the bottom. I saved this juice. I can add it to another recipe later. I drizzled some of this deliciousness onto the garnished bird and when plated.Here’s where you will squeeze that lemon on top. Drizzle some of the juice mentioned above. Pay no attention to the wing- I clearly do not know my animal anatomy- as I put it on backward. This bird isn’t going anywhere but in my belly, so oh well! I also added some garnish to the sides to make it look “oh so fancy”.Look how pretty that looks on the table!!And now- you dig into this tender, succulent and oh so delicious bird. YUM. When I served it, I drizzled juice on top as well as some celery and tomatoes on the side.
If you make this recipe, be sure to take a photo and hashtag it #MADMADAMMOM
This looks AMAZING! Such a well written and easy to follow recipe too. I’m saving this so I can make it for myself next weekend! Yum!
Thank you so much for your kind words! Let me know how it turns out! It was so good! If you like salt, sprinkle a little on top when you plate it. 🙂
Great tip, will try it and let you know! 🙂
Looks delicious, will have to buy a whole bird next shopping trip. Love the detailed instructions, and the beautiful photography.
Thank you so very much!