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

Roast Chicken with Coconut Oil

Prepared by Sarah Shilhavy, Photo by Jeremiah Shilhavy

• 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 9x13 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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Chicken Broccoli Braid

Photo by recipe author

Servings: 5-9
Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Crust:

• 3/4 cup coconut oil
• 2 cups pastry flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup cold water

Filling Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 breasts chicken, cooked and chopped
• 2 bunches broccoli, chopped
• 1/2 red pepper, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, freshly pressed
• 1 cup shredded cheese (sharp cheddar or Monterey jack)
• 1 cup mayonnaise* (use as needed, enough to lightly coat all ingredients)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut oil into flour and salt until mix finely. Pour in water and mix with fork and then knead with your hands just until pliable.

Roll out dough to rectangle. You're going to want to try and make it about 9x13, but it may not stretch that much. Mine didn't. Place dough unto a lightly greased cookie sheet.

Mix filling ingredients and put mixture in center. Cut the excess of both sides of dough into strips, but DO NOT detach from center of the dough. Take the strips up over the mixture and sort of pinch the two strips together.

Put a light egg wash (1 egg beaten with a little water) over the top and bake for 30-35 minutes.

*Recipe for homemade mayonnaise with instructional video found here

Recipe submitted by Amanda, South Whitley, IN

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Roast Chicken with Coconut Oil

Prepared by Sarah Shilhavy, Photo by Jeremiah Shilhavy

• 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 9x13 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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Gluten-free Fried Pastured Chicken served with Bhutanese Red Rice and broccoli.

Prepared by Marianita Shilhavy Photo by Jeremiah Shilhavy

Marinade:

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup coconut water vinegar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup water

• 1 whole cut chicken
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 cup tapioca flour or cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 eggs
• Coconut oil*, for frying

1 day or 1 hour in advance: Whisk all marinade ingredients together and pour into a large zip lock bag. Set aside.

Wash the chicken then pat dry. Place the chicken in the bag containing the marinade and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

After the chicken has marinated combine the coconut flour, tapioca flour, garlic salt and ground black pepper in a small bowl. Beat the eggs and set aside.

Dip each piece of chicken in the eggs and dredge to coat in the flour mixture. Repeat until all pieces are coated.

In a large frying pan heat the needed amount of coconut oil at medium heat. Lightly fry the chicken for about 3 minutes on each side.

Transfer the chicken to a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet and bake it for 35-45 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked.

Serve with steamed vegetables as side dish.

*You may also combine the coconut oil with half palm shortening to avoid overheating the oil and smoking.

Posted by Marianita Shilhavy

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A very simple dinner that can be concocted in minutes. Chicken tenders dusted with curry flavored flour lightly sautéed in coconut oil. Coconut oil based chicken gravy flavored with poultry seasoning.

• 2 chicken breasts,
• 2 teaspoons curry seasoning, to taste
• 1/2 cup flour, plus more as needed
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Coconut oil, as needed
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning, or taste

Flatten chicken with a tenderizer to even thinness. Mix curry with 1/2 cup flour and salt and pepper. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Lightly coat flattened chicken with flour mixture. Tap off excess flour.

Heat coconut oil in a medium pan and lightly sauté until cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside.

For gravy:

Estimate the amount of coconut oil remaining in the pan and add an equal amount of flour to the remaining coconut oil. Mix well.

Add the poultry seasoning and salt and pepper to taste. Add enough chicken broth to bring the roux to gravy thickness. Stir until thickened and all the little bits are brought up off the pan.

Recipe submitted by Bo, Denver, CO

Photo by recipe author

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