I also love this one because it makes use of our HHF half chicken cuts!  While our absolute favorite way to cook HHF half chickens is on the grill with homemade BBQ sauce, this lemon chicken recipe is a close second!   I love to use the delicious sauce on a fresh arugula salad as a side dish!

One more thing - I like to make this on two sheet pans so that I can overlap the cooking time since it is all at the same temp anyway.  I move the chicken over to the potato pan when it says to add the chicken and then take it back off to cool.  It all takes a little under an hour - and although it is not my most hands off recipe - it isn't too labor intensive.  Hope you like it!

No Crumbs Left - Greek Lemon Chicken Recipe

INGREDIENTS
For the Lemon and Garlic Sauce:½ cup fresh lemon juice 
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil 
2½ tablespoons red wine vinegar 
1 garlic clove, pressed 
1 teaspoon dried oregano 
¾ teaspoon kosher salt 
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
 
For the Chicken:1 teaspoon kosher salt 
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
1 whole (4-pound) chicken, cut in half or 2 Half Chicken Cuts
1½ teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil 
4 Yukon Gold potatoes, sliced into ¼-inch-thick rounds* 
1 lemon, sliced into ¼-inch rounds 
Chopped Fresh parsley, for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS
*Adjust the oven rack to 7 inches below the broiler. Preheat the oven to broil. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.*

Make the Lemon and Garlic Sauce:
In a large bowl, add the lemon juice and using a whisk, slowly add the olive oil. Then add the vinegar, garlic, oregano, salt, mustard, and pepper, stirring well. Set aside. 
Prep the Chicken:
​Thoroughly season each chicken half with the salt and pepper, then generously rub every crevice with the olive oil. Put the chicken skin-side down on the lined sheet pan and put the pan on the adjusted rack in the oven. Broil for 15 minutes, until beginning to turn golden. 
Remove the sheet pan from the oven and flip the chicken over to the other side. Return to the oven and broil for 20 more minutes, or until cooked through, golden brown, and bubbling. Remove the pan from the oven and set the chicken aside. 
Arrange the sliced potatoes and lemons on the sheet pan. Return to the oven and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the potatoes and lemons begin to brown. Remove the sheet pan from oven, put the chicken on top of the potatoes and lemons and pour 1/2 cup of the Lemon and Garlic Sauce evenly over the top.
Return to the oven and broil until the chicken is further browned and crispy, about 5 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and drain off any excess liquid from the pan (so that the potatoes can cook to a crisp).  Once cool enough to handle, cut each half into 3 pieces: legs, thighs, and breasts with wings attached, if desired.  Return the potatoes to the oven and broil until crisped an cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes more.
Serve the potatoes and lemons with the chicken and remaining lemon and garlic sauce, either poured over the top or as a dipping sauce.

NOTES

• You can Japanese sweet potatoes (the purple ones) instead of Yukon gold potatoes, which take about the same time to cook.
• You can also use a different kind of sweet potato, but be sure to watch them closely, as they take less time to cook.
• If you have a smaller oven, or your broiler runs hotter than 500 degrees, roast the chicken 450 – 475 and cook longer as needed. In the end, you may need to add some extra time to get the chicken cooked in the middle. 

Recipe: No Crumbs Left by Terri Turner, Greek Lemon Chicken  

This chili is a family favorite and is pretty flexible based on what you have on hand!  The kids love it with tortilla chips, but Jiffy cornbread with green chilis stirred in the batter and cooked in a small cast iron pan is delicious as well!

• 2 to 3 lbs of any combination of ground beef, Italian sausage, breakfast sausage, chorizo, or ground venison 
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 Tbsp minced garlic (3 to 4 cloves)
• 2 -3 cans beans (any combination of black, pinto, kidney)
• 1 can tomato sauce (15 oz)
• 1 can diced tomatoes w/juice (regular or fire roasted)
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 can tomato paste (6 oz)
• 1 can of green chilis or 1 can Rotel (drained)
• 2 Tbsp chili powder
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
• 1 beer (any type works!  To make GF just omit this)
• 2 tsp ground red pepper
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp hot sauce 

Cook meat in a dutch oven over medium heat, browning and breaking it up in pot.  Add onion and cook until soft.  Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.  If you are not using Happy Hen Farm meat - you may need to drain off some fat at this point.  Add spices and tomato paste, cook another minute, while stirring.  Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.  Cover and reduce heat to low and simmer 2 hours to 3 hours or until thickened.

**Short on time?  You can do this in the Instant Pot by using the Saute function until the very last step in the recipe and then turning on high pressure for 30 minutes.

​Enjoy!

Here at Happy Hen Farm, we sell pasture raised, soy-free, whole chicken to our community surrounding the Raleigh area.  We have been raising chickens for meat for a few years now and bought from other farmers in the years before that, so we are no strangers to working with a whole chicken in the kitchen.  Actually, I'm going to switch from "we" to "I" here because, in all honesty, Jason (Mr. Happy Hen Farm), has many skills but kitchen skills are not on that list!  I don't think he would be too upset with me for putting that out there... especially if I cook something on this post! :)  So, I am going to take some time to hopefully take some of the intimidation away from working with a whole chicken, give you my favorite recipe for cooking a whole chicken, an easy recipe for a whole chicken in the Instant Pot, and show you how to cut it up into pieces instead of cooking it whole.  Bonus instructions for making broth/stock, too!

What is my number one favorite thing to do with a whole chicken?  Roast it.  You guys know how delicious that roasted Thanksgiving turkey is, right?  It is moist and flavorful with crispy, delicious skin.  It is an ordeal though, right?  Roasted chicken is, dare I say, BETTER.  I love turkey but the flavor is not as versatile as chicken.  Plus, a chicken will roast in just over an hour - hands off and with things you have on hand anyway - and when it is done, it is such a treat.  In our house, the kids fight over the crispy skin.  If you haven't tried it, find a weekend night and try this recipe.   I started with this recipe by Barefoot Contessa and have modified it over the years based on what I have on hand and personal preferences to make our own slightly less fussy version (click button below to see this version), but whichever you make it - it will be DELICIOUS.

I try to make use of every bit of the chicken.  I use the leftover chicken meat to make chicken salad, pastas, soup, etc.  You know the chicken broth or chicken stock that you pay $3 to $5 per box for at the store?  It is super easy to make yourself and freeze.  If you are limited on freezer space, make the broth and use it for a soup later that week.  I usually pick the leftover meat off that night, and take everything thing that is left (bones and the neck, if that is included) and put in a freezer bag and freeze until I am ready to make broth.  Speaking of, broth is my second favorite thing to do with a whole chicken.  No matter what you do with that whole chicken - roast it whole, cut into pieces, cook whole in the instant pot, etc. - consider making broth.  So many recipes call for it and it's an easy thing to store in the freezer.
This recipe from the Pioneer Woman is an easy one to do in the slow cooker or on slow cooker mode in your instant pot overnight.  You can take everything leftover from the roasted chicken recipe above (except the lemon unless you like lemony broth), then add the carrots, bay leaf, and celery (I never have parsnips on hand - so I would leave that out - if you have them go for it!).  If it is a weeknight, and you have to go to work the next morning, just cover the slow cooker bowl and put it in the fridge until you get back home.  I have been known to leave it in the fridge a few days... so if you get too busy, I won't judge you! 
*Note:  You could also make this in the Instant Pot on high pressure for 40 minutes.  

What about weeknights?  You want something quick and hands off.  This is a go-to in our house for those nights when we have ball games or meetings or whatever happened on weeknights before the coronavirus.  I am a farmer, home cook, busy mom, and many, many other things - but not an Instant Pot expert.  So instead of trying to recreate the wheel - here is a link to a completely unaffiliated site's recipe that I use as a guide for timing on the Instant Pot:  Pressure Cooker Whole Roasted Chicken with Lemon and Rosemary
You should know that the skin does not crisp up at all in the pressure cooker.  The steam will not allow for that.  The searing in this recipe is just to give the skin some color (same with the paprika).  However, I use this basic recipe, usually with whatever herbs I have on hand (usually dried), water instead of chicken broth, and the whole lemon in the cavity instead of zested.  It is a weeknight dinner after all!  I have even used a frozen chicken straight out of the freezer and modified the time based on internet searches.  I will definitely not commit to those times in writing though - you will have to search it up yourself and experiment.
The meat can be used right away as a main course with sides.  I have omitted the herbs and lemon in the past and served on sandwiches with BBQ sauce with oven fries as well.  This gives you one weeknight dinner, then you can pick the extra meat off and use for something else like a rice or pasta dish the next night.  Or you can leave the extra meat on and make broth with the whole carcass that night (see above broth recipe) and then make a soup with the leftover chicken and broth the next night.

There are lots of delicious things to make with a whole chicken and hopefully this has helped give you a few ideas to get started!  If you have a favorite recipe, please share it in the comments!  
Thank you, farm friends!
​Stephanie with HHF