Julia Child’s One-Pot Roast Chicken Technique Is *Perfect* for Fall Dinners

We've teamed up with Le Creuset to share our favorite no-fuss, one-pot technique for the crispiest, juiciest roast chicken. Psst: We’ve got other ideas for cooking in their signature Dutch oven, too.

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There are two things we look for in a roast chicken—a burnished, golden exterior and meat that’s juicy and thoroughly seasoned. It sounds relatively simple, but achieving both of these benchmarks can be a challenge, especially if you’re relying on conventional roasting techniques.

You’ve heard the horror stories, or maybe you’ve experienced them yourself: chicken breast that’s overcooked while the thighs are still raw, burnt wing tips, the opposite of crispy skin. “The biggest battle is evenly cooking everything together, all at once,” says Emily Ziemski, Food52’s Food Editor. There is, thankfully, a very simple solution. It’s a one-pot technique inspired by the one Julia Child wrote about in Mastering the Art of French Cooking, made easy with the help of Le Creuset’s 5.5-Quart Round Dutch Oven.

Unlike most roast chicken recipes, this one starts on the stove. First, a small amount of olive oil is heated in a Dutch oven set over medium-high. Then, the whole chicken—seasoned with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper—is added to the pot and allowed to brown on its top and sides. Once the bird is browned all over, it’s set aside, and into the Dutch oven goes a ton (well, two pounds) of root vegetables, an onion, and some butter. Once the vegetables and butter are incorporated, the chicken is nestled right in the center, along with a bit of white wine. The last step? Popping the lid on the Dutch oven, moving it to the oven, and letting the chicken finish cooking through.

According to Emily, searing the chicken before roasting it doesn’t just ensure a golden-brown color. It also reduces the bird’s overall cook time, which prevents it from drying out. “What you're looking for—on top of the 165 degrees Fahrenheit, USDA-safe internal temperature—is that golden-brown [exterior],” Emily says. Trying to achieve the latter through roasting alone, however, can lead to overcooked, dry meat. On the flip side, a roast chicken might boast perfectly cooked meat, but its skin likely hasn’t had a chance to fully caramelize.

This recipe is one that moves seamlessly from stovetop to oven, so an enameled Dutch oven like one from Le Creuset is your best bet for both browning the chicken and keeping it moist and juicy as it cooks. According to Food52 Food Stylist Anna Billingskog, Le Creuset’s Dutch ovens boast a chip-resistant, enameled cast-iron cooking surface that pretty much guarantees caramelized, rendered chicken skin (while preventing sticking at the same time). Meanwhile, the tight-fitting lid “helps trap in moisture, so you get a fall-apart-tender bird,” according to Anna. The 5.5-Quart Round Dutch Oven also just so happens to be the perfect size for roasting a chicken, allowing it to nestle snugly in the pot alongside all those vegetables.

Because this technique is so foolproof, there’s also a ton of room for experimentation. Though the recipe technically calls for a 3.5-pound chicken, you can make it with any size bird—and any size round Dutch oven—you have access to. Or, instead of a whole chicken, try using skin-on chicken thighs for an even more weeknight-friendly twist. Rather than relying solely on root vegetables, throw some hearty stalks of kale into the mix. Swap plain butter for an herby compound butter, or add punchy ingredients—like preserved lemon, spicy Calabrian chiles, or miso paste—to switch things up. Not much is needed to complete this meal, but you can’t go with a bright, leafy salad or warm, crusty bread for sopping up extra sauce—or, if you’re looking for even more inspiration, see some of our favorite picks below.

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What’s your favorite dish to make in your Dutch oven? Tell us in the comments!

Our friends at Le Creuset know a thing or two about cookware: After all, they’ve been making their iconic enameled cast-iron pots, pans, and more for nearly a century. Handcrafted in Fresnoy-le-Grand, France since 1925, Le Creuset’s Dutch ovens are known for their best-in-class heat retention, unmatched durability, and dozens of vivid colors—making them a longtime favorite among home cooks and chefs alike.