An herb butter–rubbed chicken boasting a cranberry-walnut stuffing sounds like a meal fit for a holiday table, but our version takes the stuffing out of the chicken and moves the cooking to a Dutch oven for a fuss-free, anytime dish. The Dutch oven’s tall sides easily contained the chicken and a hefty portion of stuffing. We sautéed some classic aromatics and herbs such as celery, onion, sage, and thyme to give the dish a solid flavor base, then nestled the butter-rubbed chicken into the pot and surrounded it with cubes of sturdy Italian bread. Placing the bread cubes around the chicken rather than underneath it allowed them to toast in the oven as well as soak up the chicken’s flavorful juices. While the chicken rested, we completed the stuffing, moistening it with a small amount of chicken broth and stirring in sweet-tart dried cranberries, buttery toasted walnuts, and fresh parsley.
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 4 teaspoons minced fresh sage
- 4 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
- Salt and pepper
- 1 (3½- to 4-pound) whole chicken, giblets discarded
- 1 onion, chopped coarse
- 2 celery ribs, chopped coarse
- 5 ounces Italian bread, cut into ½-inch pieces (4 cups)
- ⅓ cup chicken broth
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries
- ¼ cup walnuts, toasted and chopped coarse
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Combine melted butter, 2 teaspoons sage, 2 teaspoons thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper in bowl. Pat chicken dry with paper towels, tuck wingtips behind back, and rub all over with butter mixture.
- Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, celery, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and cook until vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in remaining 2 teaspoons sage and remaining 2 teaspoons thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Off heat, place chicken, breast side up, in pot, then tuck bread evenly around sides of chicken. Transfer pot to oven and roast, uncovered, until breast registers 160 degrees and thighs register 175 degrees, about 1 hour, rotating pot halfway through roasting.
- Remove pot from oven. Transfer chicken to carving board, brushing any bread pieces back into pot, and let rest for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, stir broth, cranberries, and walnuts into bread mixture and cover to keep warm. Stir parsley and any accumulated chicken juices into stuffing. Carve chicken and serve with stuffing.