Roast Chicken with Coconut Oil

Prepared by Sarah Shilhavy, Photo by Jeremiah Shilhavy

Roasting a chicken is easier then you think (if you’ve never made one before). The recipe I have for you today is simple, but it makes one really tasty chicken.

The key is in the basting and roasting. The recipe starts off on high heat, but after a few minutes it comes down to allow the chicken to roast slowly, locking the juices in and resulting in a moist, tender, juicy chicken. Depending on how large the chicken is this will take 1-2 hours to roast, or more. The oven will have something to say about it too.

Basting the bird during the roasting helps it stay moist throughout, especially in the white meat area, as that tends to cook quicker and dry out faster. At first you’ll only have the oil and butter to baste the chicken with, but after about 15-20 minutes or so the chicken will start oozing drippings, perfect for basting back on.

And about the oils, am I sure that’s not too much? YES! It’s not. I like it that way. You will too. The butter and oil infuses so much buttery flavor into the chicken, as well as making the skin turn a crisp, golden brown. Watch the video. You’ll see.

If you want to, cube a few potatoes and roast them with the chicken.

If you want to make gravy though, don’t add potatoes. Potatoes are extremely greedy and gulp all the drippings down. They won’t spare you very much in the way of drippings, if any at all.

So what are you waiting for? Check the video out for a step by step tutorial and make this for your next dinner, along with a side of rice, popovers, or potatoes. I’d do the popovers. They’re perfect for soaking up any extra gravy.

Enjoy!

Sarah:)

Roast Chicken with Coconut Oil

1 whole chicken
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 small yellow onion, quartered
1 stalk celery
4 garlic cloves, cut in half
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup chicken stock or water (or combination)
1 1/2 tablespoons corn starch
2 tablespoons water

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove the giblets and wash the chicken in warm to hot tap water and dry thoroughly. Liberally season the cavity with salt and pepper. Stuff with the onion, celery, and garlic.

Brush melted butter and coconut oil all over chicken and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Place in a roasting pan or a 9×13 glass baking pan.

Roast for 11 minutes at 425 degrees F. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees and baste the chicken. Roast for 1 hour or until juices run clear when pricked between the leg and thigh. Baste chicken with pan juices every 10-15 minutes or so, but stop basting around the last 10 minutes. You can increase the temperature to 375 degrees F during the last 1/2 hour or so if you need to “hurry” it up.

Pour pan juices into a small saucepan and add chicken stock or water. Adjust richness by adding more or less stock/water. Make a slurry by adding the corn starch to the water and whisk into the gravy to reach the desired consistency. Add more if needed. Add more stock if needed and whisk and boil until gravy has thickened. Serve with the roasted chicken.

Recipe courtesy Sarah Shilhavy

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Published on March 19, 2010

(9 votes, average: 3.33 out of 5)

13 Comments

Sarah S. July 7, 2013 at 1:36 am - Reply

Carry B – For flavor. That’s really the main reason why any amount of added fat is there. Coconut oil enhances natural flavors and depending on type, it may add its own taste but butter makes it richer, tender and well, buttery!

Cary B July 4, 2013 at 9:20 am - Reply

I’ve just ordered my first coconut oil and it arrives tomorrow!  Please explain why you use butter in your baste mixture, why not just plain coconut oil?  Thanks so much.

Andrea June 15, 2013 at 7:50 am - Reply

I cook a lot and I am amazed at how delightful this chicken is. I could eat the whole thing in one setting it is soooooo good! I added cauliflower to the roasting pan for the last 20 min. I used one head of cauliflower cut up into medium to me-small pieces. I first sprinkled a little olive oil on them. I mixed in a cup about one 2-3 teaspoons of curry, 1 teaspoon of coriander and about 3/4 teaspoon of cinnamon.mixed that together and sprinkled on cauliflower, mixed it up with a spoon and then put it with chicken in roasting pan. Wow-was it good !Didn’t make gravy, but poured pan juice on chicken and let cauliflower pieces soak up some as well. 10++++

Amy December 12, 2012 at 8:53 pm - Reply

We’ve tried this recipe twice now, and we all love it.  The chicken is so flavorful and juicy.

Laura July 5, 2012 at 8:27 pm - Reply

Followed the recipe exactly and it was by far the most beautiful and most tasty chicken we have ever made. Also, my first successful gravy that didn’t taste like corn starch or water! Delicious! Thank you.

Donna P. May 4, 2012 at 6:07 pm - Reply

Before butter and fats became dirty words, I learned a trick to put the butter and oil underneath the skin.  Just loosen the skin with your hand and slip in the butter and spices.  I have only used butter in the past, but will try it with my coconut oil.

Nonny D February 15, 2015 at 6:10 am - Reply

Roasted my first organic chicken ever, with coconut oil, and used this trick (placing oil between the skin and breast meat) – all parts stayed moist and tender! The flavor and aroma of roating organic chicken took me back to my childhood. Ounce for ounce, this is still a better deal than buying fast food chicken, and the quality and purity are priceless.

Mary January 15, 2012 at 7:17 pm - Reply

Made this today with chicken raised on local organic farm. It was awesome! We had to hurry and put the leftover away, or eat way too much! Thanks for the recipe and of course the delicious coconut oil. I use it for everything!

Melissa December 30, 2010 at 9:15 am - Reply

i bought some coconut oil after hearing about the health benefits. this is the first recipe we’ve tried using the oil. the chicken was very moist, and we didn’t baste it during the process. it didn’t really taste of coconut, even though the amount used seemed generous. we would definitely eat this again.

Sue October 17, 2010 at 9:49 am - Reply

Made this last night, it came out awesome, so moist, gravy was exceptional too.  Definitely a keeper!

wv September 13, 2010 at 9:30 pm - Reply

Oh! I forgot to say that I skipped the butter and just used all coconut oil, and I was out of celery, so that was omitted as well. :-)
I specifically bought chickens from here after seeing this recipe online… I definitely wasn’t disappointed!

wv September 13, 2010 at 9:28 pm - Reply

This was phenomenally good. I don’t know if it was the recipe, or maybe the chicken from here is just that much more flavorful, but this was really tasty.  I served it with oven roasted potatoes and fresh tomatoes from the garden.

rhonda August 1, 2010 at 12:33 am - Reply

Oh my gosh..it’s 2:00 am and my mouth is watering for this wonderful baked chicken, mmmmm..baked chicken is the 1st meal I remember my grandmother cooking for me, thanks for the recipe and the great videos, I’ll try it tomorrow and let you know the results

Roast Chicken with Coconut Oil