- Hey everyone, it's Natasha of NatashasKitchen.com,
and today, I'm gonna teach you how to make
a whole chicken in the Instant Pot.
I am so excited about this because it becomes
the juiciest chicken, it's quick to make,
easy, and it's not just the chicken.
Wait until you see what we do with the drippings,
so let's get started.
(drums on table)
We start with one whole chicken.
If your chicken has a bag of giblets inside,
make sure you remove it.
Pat dry the chicken all over with a paper towel.
Place the chicken breast-side up and starting
from the drumstick side, loosen the skin
from the chicken breast using the back of a spoon to help.
Be careful not to tear the skin because we're gonna
fill that space with a delicious, flavored butter.
For that butter rub, you'll need
two teaspoons of salt, a quarter teaspoon
of black pepper, one teaspoon of onion powder,
one teaspoon of garlic powder,
and half a teaspoon of paprika.
Next, remove the leaves from one sprig
of fresh rosemary and one sprig of fresh thyme.
The easiest way to strip the leaves off
is to grab hold of the end and pull the leaves down
in the opposite direction.
Mince the fresh herbs together and add them
to your seasoning mix.
Now pour in eight tablespoons of melted, unsalted butter,
and add one tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Stir that all together to combine
and set it aside.
This flavored butter will make your chicken
and gravy taste incredible.
I'm using a six-quart Instant Pot and I will link
to the one I have in the notes.
Place a rack into the inner pot,
and add one cup of low-sodium chicken broth.
I'll link to these handy gloves as well,
I love keeping a stash of these in my kitchen.
Place the chicken onto the rack with the breast side up.
Stuff the cavity with half of a lemon,
and it's totally okay to use the half
that you've squeezed for juice already,
and four garlic cloves.
Give the butter mixture a quick stir,
then pour half of it under the chicken skin and massage
gently to evenly distribute it.
Pour the remaining half of the butter
evenly all over the chicken.
Cover with the lid and set the valve
to the sealing position.
Cook on high pressure for 24 minutes,
followed by a 15-minute natural pressure release.
(upbeat music)
After the 15-minute natural pressure release,
turn the valve to the venting position to release
any remaining pressure.
Carefully remove the chicken using the trivet
and allow any excess juices to drip back into the pot.
Next, transfer the whole chicken to a foil-lined,
rimmed baking sheet and season the top lightly
with salt, pepper, and a little more paprika for color.
The little bit of extra seasonings go a long way
and they help to develop that crisp, salty skin.
Lastly, place the chicken on the center rack
of the oven and broil at 500 degrees Fahrenheit
for about three to five minutes or until
you've reached your desired color.
You can also put it in the air fryer
for about five minutes.
To make the easy chicken gravy,
pour all of your pan drippings into a measuring cup
through a sieve.
For a really smooth gravy, you wanna get rid
of any solid pieces that are left in the sieve,
then use a ladle or a large spoon to remove
any excess oil that floats to the top.
We're gonna use the same Instant Pot
and there's no need to wash it, set that to saute
on medium heat, and add three tablespoons
of unsalted butter.
Once the butter is melted, add three tablespoons
of all-purpose flour, and whisk that together
for a minute until it's golden.
Next, add the remaining drippings and you should have
about two cups after straining off the fat.
Whisk those together until everything is simmering
and thickened, then remove it from the heat
and transfer it to a serving dish.
And make sure to keep an eye on that chicken,
it really only needs no more than five minutes.
Take it out of the oven as soon as it's golden brown.
All right, all that's left is to put this
on a platter and serve it up, oh, and I cannot wait.
And the chicken gets so tender, you have to be
a little careful with it (laughs).
This is never dry 'cause you're gonna love it.
Okay, and I love to garnish this with some fresh rosemary
or you can use sprigs of thyme because it's in the recipe
so it makes sense (chuckles).
Looks so pretty.
Okay, now we're gonna cut into the chicken breast,
and I wanna show you just how juicy this is.
So here we go.
Oh, yum, and it is so juicy, I told you it was juicy.
Take a look inside.
Yeah (laughs).
Okay.
And this is so delicious, when you pair it
with mashed potatoes because you've got gravy
with chicken, yum, yum.
Oh my goodness, yum.
And then that crisp, salty skin from broiling
in the oven is mm, delicious.
Okay, and then, just pour the gravy over.
It doesn't get any better than this.
Ah, juicy chicken, and hot gravy.
(laughs)
Oh, I cannot wait.
And my kids love this because they love
anything with gravy, and it helps that it's super soft.
Okay, here we go, going in for the taste test.
Oh, that's a big bite.
(laughs)
All right, we can handle that.
Mm (laughs), mm, mm.
Mm-mm-mm, mm, mm.
This is literally melt in your mouth tender,
and making the gravy out of the pan drippings
is brilliant because it holds all those
amazing flavors from the chicken.
The rosemary and thyme really shine in this chicken
and then also that little hint of lemon is so fresh
and vibrant, and it also reheats really well
because the chicken is so, so, so, so tender.
Great over mashed potatoes, great over rice,
whatever you wanna serve it with, it's so good.
I don't know, this tastes better
than Thanksgiving turkey, is that wrong to say?
Am I in trouble?
(laughs)
It is so delicious, mm, I can't wait to eat
the rest of this.
I'm just gonna go ahead and wolf this down.
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