One-Pan Skillet Chicken and Potatoes
One skillet. Six ingredients. Chicken roasts skin-up while the potatoes crisp underneath, catching everything that drips.
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This is the dinner I make when I want a full roast chicken, crisp potatoes, and no second pan to deal with after. Everything cooks in one cast iron skillet: chicken on top, potatoes underneath, catching all the fat and drippings as they render down.
The chicken gets a simple dry brine first, just salt and time in the fridge, then a rub of butter under the skin with thyme, rosemary, lemon, and a little shallot. Halving it, and taking out the backbone, ribs, and wishbone, means more skin sits flat against the pan, which is where the real crisping happens.
The potatoes go in a thin layer with a ring left exposed at the edges. Fully covered, they steam. Left partly open, they crisp up in the chicken fat while the top of the bird does its own thing entirely.
I cooked this one in my wood-fired oven, which meant coasting the temperature down from pizza heat instead of running a straight bake. It's a fun way to do it if you've got the setup and the patience, but a regular oven at 450°F gets you the same result. The technique doesn't change, just the tool.
One pan, six ingredients beyond the pantry staples, and the potatoes never see their own dish. That's really the whole pitch.
Recipe
Ingredients
4 pounds whole chicken, backbone, ribs, wishbone removed, halved
1.5 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch coins
1 lemon, halved
4 fresh thyme sprigs
2 fresh rosemary sprigs
1 small shallot, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
1 teaspoons black pepper
Steps
Dry brine the chicken: Pat the chicken halves 4 pounds whole chicken, backbone, ribs, wishbone removed, halved completely dry, then season all over with 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste kosher salt. Refrigerate uncovered, skin side up, for at least 30 minutes 30:00, up to 24 hours for better skin. Pull out 30 minutes before cooking.
Preheat oven and skillet: Preheat oven to 450°F (standard or convection). Set a cast iron skillet inside to preheat.
Season the potatoes: Toss the potato coins 1.5 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch coins with 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided olive oil, the sliced shallot 1 small shallot, thinly sliced, and 1 teaspoons black pepper black pepper.
Butter and season the chicken: Rub the chicken halves with the softened butter 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, working some under the skin. Squeeze the lemon 1 lemon, halved over both halves, then tuck the thyme 4 fresh thyme sprigs and rosemary 2 fresh rosemary sprigs underneath and around the chicken.
Assemble in the skillet: Remove the hot skillet. Arrange the potatoes in a thin layer, leaving a ring exposed around the edge. Set the chicken halves skin side up on top.
Roast: Roast until the skin is deep golden and the thickest part of the thigh reads 165-175°F. Check both halves independently. Start checking at 35 minutes 35:00.
Rest: Tent loosely with foil and let rest before slicing.
Slice and serve: Slice and serve straight from the skillet, spooning pan drippings over the potatoes.
Notes
Wood-fired variation: build your fire to pizza peak, hold there 20-30 minutes past your normal stop, then let it coast down through the pizza range to 450-500°F before loading. Preheat the skillet around 750°F during the descent, but wait to load the chicken and potatoes until the oven has actually settled into 450-500, not while it's still falling through the 550-600 range. Rotate once or twice; keep the door mostly closed once you're in range.
At a Glance
Prep Time:
15 mins
Inactive Time:
30 mins - 24 hours
Cook Time:
60mins
Serves:
2
Difficulty:
Easy
Easy
Chicken
One Pan
Pan Roasted
Fire Roasted
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