Chef Gephart prepares a classic split chicken with herbs and veggies in cast iron.
WHAT YOU'LL LOVE
- Searing the chicken in the cast iron before building the pan sauce: Browning the skin first and removing the chicken leaves behind rendered fat and fond that becomes the base for the vegetables and gravy, instead of starting the sauce from a clean pan.
- Sweating the onions and herbs in the chicken fond: Cooking the aromatics in the same pan the chicken seared in picks up all that browned flavor before the wine and stock ever go in.
- Deglazing with white wine before adding stock: Wine lifts the browned bits off the pan first, so the chicken stock added afterward builds on that flavor instead of diluting it.
- Finishing the chicken skin-side up over the vegetables: Setting the seared halves back on top of the simmering potatoes and stock lets the chicken roast gently while basting the vegetables below with rendered fat and juices — turning the pan drippings into a self-made gravy with no extra steps.
Split Roasted Chicken
Eric Gephart
Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users
Category
Entree
Cuisine
American
Servings
10
Prep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
52 minutes
Calories
502
Chef Eric Gephart fires up the Kamado Joe Classic III Ceramic Charcoal Grill for his Split Roasted Chicken cooked over a bed of veggies and herbs in a cast iron dish!
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken, backbone cut out, bird split in half down the breast bone
-
3 tbsp Cattleman’s Grill Trail Dust Seasoning
-
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, large dice
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled
- 10 each new (baby) potatoes, halved
- 3/4 cup white wine
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 cups chicken stock
Directions
- Stabilize your Kamado Joe Classic III Ceramic Charcoal Grill at 350ºF and set up for direct grilling with grill grates at the highest setting of the divide and conquer system.
- While the grill is coming to temperature, place a Lodge Cast Iron Casserole Dish on the grill grate and let it come to temp with the grill.
- Season all sides of the chicken halves as well as your veggies with Cattleman’s Grill Trail Dust Seasoning.
- Oil the cast iron and place the chicken halves skin side down in the pan. Allow to brown and render for a few minutes then flip and allow to sear for another 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the chicken and reserve.
- Add the onions and herbs to the hot pan. Toss them so they soak up the seared chicken fond. Sweat for a few minutes then deglaze with the white wine. Add the sliced potatoes, garlic, butter, and chicken stock. Make sure the potatoes are spread out. Top the liquid and vegetables with the chicken halves, skin side facing up. Close the dome and cook until the breast meat reaches an internal temperature of 160ºF - 165ºF and the leg and thigh temperatures are around 175ºF, about 45 minutes.
Remove and reserve the chicken halves. Transfer the vegetables to a platter or presentation plate. Use a knife and cut the leg/thigh from the breast meat and plate your portion of chicken on top of the steaming vegetables. Pour the self-made gravy on top and enjoy!
Recipe Note
Recipe FAQ
Why sear the chicken in the cast iron before adding the vegetables?
Browning the skin first renders fat and leaves fond in the pan, which becomes the flavor base for the onions, herbs, and eventual gravy — starting the vegetables in a clean pan would skip that built-in flavor.
Why sweat the onions and herbs in the same pan the chicken seared in?
Cooking the aromatics directly in the chicken fond lets them pick up all that browned flavor before the wine and stock go in, instead of building a separate base from scratch.
Why deglaze with white wine before adding the chicken stock?
Wine lifts the browned bits stuck to the pan into the liquid first. Adding stock afterward builds on that lifted flavor, rather than just diluting fond that's still stuck to the pan.
Why put the chicken back on top of the vegetables skin-side up instead of cooking them separately?
Roasting the chicken over the simmering potatoes and stock lets rendered fat and juices baste the vegetables as they cook, turning the pan drippings into a self-made gravy without any extra steps.
What internal temperature should the chicken actually reach?
This recipe lists 160-165°F for the breast, but USDA's minimum safe internal temperature for poultry — breast, thigh, and wing alike — is 165°F. Cook the breast to at least 165°F rather than the lower end of that range. The leg/thigh target of about 175°F is fine as written.
Why cut the leg/thigh away from the breast before plating?
Separating the two lets you portion light and dark meat evenly across servings, since the two pieces finish at slightly different temperatures and have different textures.
How indoor-friendly is this recipe?
4 out of 5 — a cast iron skillet or Dutch oven in a regular oven can replicate every step here; the kamado grill mainly adds a touch of smoke to the finished dish.
Recipe Highlights
Sear-then-braise method: Builds a fond-based sauce instead of starting from a clean pan.
Fond-sweated aromatics: Onions and herbs absorb browned chicken flavor before liquid is added.
Wine deglaze: Lifts pan drippings into the sauce rather than leaving them stuck.
Skin-up finish over vegetables: Bastes the vegetables into a self-made gravy with no extra steps.
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Nutrition
Nutrition
- Nutrition Serving Size
- 9.93 oz
- per serving
- Calories
- 502
- Carbs
- 25 grams
- Protein
- 31 grams
- Fat
- 28 grams
- Sodium
- 269 milligrams
