Roasted Chicken with Cabbage

I absolutely love roasted chicken and this one is my family’s go-to recipe.  I’ve been making it for years.  However, I recently stumbled across a recipe that used two main things – chicken and cabbage, which I had and needed to use, so I put it on my menu. I’m not particularly fond of cabbage, but the way this is cooked completely transforms the cabbage!

Wow!  Am I ever glad I made this!  This was amazing!

The recipe came from The Smitten Kitchen– check out her blog! She’s got some amazing recipes! She got this one from someone, who probably got it from someone…and so a wonderful recipe goes!

Here it is:

Roasted Chicken with Cabbage

• 1 large head (2 1/2 pounds) green cabbage
• Splash of oil, any kind
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 whole chicken – I used chicken pieces instead
• 4 tablespoons  butter, melted

Heat your oven to 450 degrees F. (I bumped this down to 425 degrees.) Halve your cabbage and slice each half into 1 to 1.5-inch thick slabs. Very thinly coat the bottom of a 12-inch ovensafe skillet* or an equivalent roasting pan with oil, just to keep the cabbage from sticking before juices trickle down. Arrange cabbage slices in the pan as if you were making a mosaic, cutting pieces down as needed to get them to fit tightly.

Season cabbage with salt and pepper. Pat your chicken dry and rub or brush it with 1 tablespoon of the butter. Generously salt and pepper the chicken all over
Place chicken breast side-up over the cabbage and roast for 45 to 60 minutes, spooning the bird and cabbage around it with butter a few times throughout.
Chicken is done when a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast reads 155 degrees, or 165 degrees for the thigh. If your chicken is much larger and you find it’s getting too dark for your tastes, reduce the heat to 425.

Lift the chicken off the cabbage and set on a plate (or warmed tray) to rest. Flip each section of cabbage over carefully in the pan, nestling them back in, and return the pan to the oven for 5 to 10 minutes at 450 degrees, until the edges are very dark brown. Season with more salt and pepper if needed.

This was a delicious change from our normal Sunday Roast Chicken and I can’t wait to make it again!  Give it a try – even if you’re not a cabbage fan!  You’ll be surprised at its transformation after an hour in the oven with this little chicken!

What new thing have you tried recently that surprised you?