I eat a lot of chicken. I try to switch up chicken types so as not to get sick of it. Baking a whole chicken is one way I do that.
Whole Baked Chicken
Red meat is very hard for me to digest. Click here to see what I use instead to keep my iron levels up.
I season, bake, cool and shred a whole chicken. I try to shred without sneaking a few bites but that’s rare. Sometimes I eat right out of the pan while I shred for dinner. If I can make it past not eating the entire chicken, I will store it in a container to eat later with veggies or fruit. This is also a great lunch option. Divide amongst containers, add some veggies and you are prepped for the week.
Ingredients
Instructions
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Start by lining a 9×13 pan with foil. Open and set a whole chicken into your pan. If I have time or if I remember, I like to set out my chicken for a few hours to bring to room temperature. My chicken cooks so much better and the meat is so moist. Do not refrigerate after if you end up not cooking because ew, salmonella poisoning!
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Pour about 1/4 C of extra light olive oil over the entire chicken.
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Then sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of seasoning salt, 1 teaspoon onion salt and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. These measurements are a guesstimate. Flick that wrist and season your chicken!
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With clean hands, rub your oil and seasoning into your chicken making sure it all gets coated. This will help your outer layer to turn crispy.
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Bake at 350 degrees for 2 hours. At the 1 hour and 45-minute mark, baste your chicken with the juices and oil that ran off. Bake the remaining 15 minutes.
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Allow to cool. I like to slit the top with a knife then the sides by the wings to let it breathe for 30 minutes before shredding.
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Shred your chicken in its pan or use a bowl. Pour or mix in the juices it created.
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At times I save the bones and juice for my bone broth recipe. If I do so, I will only use half of the juice for my shredded chicken and I will save the rest for my broth recipe.
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Enjoy!
