Break tradition with this juicy Thanksgiving chicken! You get crispy skin on the chicken and a luscious sauce to pour over your roast.
What you’ll love about this recipe
This recipe is inspired by the classic coq au vin, minus the hassle. Because I have made it a few times before, marinading and then braising the chicken in red wine and it was lovely, but somehow a little too complicated for my liking and the chicken was too soft from the red wine marinade.
- Faster and Easier to Cook: A simple recipe that’s perfect for a stress-free Thanksgiving. Cooks in less than half the time of a turkey.
- Flavorful and Satisfying: The chicken is juicy and tender, while the red wine gravy is is flavorsome and lush. No dry tasteless bird here!
- Perfect for a Smaller Gathering : A great option for feeding a smaller party, especially if you have picky eaters.
- A Break from Tradition: You still get a roast bird to celebrate Thanksgiving, but your stress is way lower.
Watch how to make My thanksgiving chicken
Ingredients you’ll need
For the Roast:
- Chicken – I used a medium free range chicken from our local farm shop, get the best quality you can, the texture makes such a difference. Season it well with a roast chicken seasoning or store bought Italian seasoning.
- Pearl onions or shallots – peel and leave whole, they are such a nice feature in this dish.
- Baby carrots – or larger carrots cut into chunks.
- Celery stalks – I like to dice them finely, they tend to meld in the sauce.
- Baby button mushrooms – clean and leave whole, they add a lovely bite to the sauce.
- Bouquet garni – I used fresh bay leaves and rosemary, but thyme and sage would work well with this dish.
- Garlic – I used half of a huge head, the garlic permeates the roast chicken wonderfully and flavors the juices.
- Pancetta or thick bacon bits (optional) – crisp them up and top the dish before you serve.
For the Gravy
- Butter
- Flour – plain flour (or all purpose).
- Red wine – I used Shiraz, but any red wine works here.
- Salt and pepper to taste
How to make thanksgiving chicken (step-by-step)
Time needed: 1 hour and 45 minutes
Break tradition with this juicy Thanksgiving chicken! You get crispy skin on the chicken and a luscious red wine gravy to pour over your roast.
- Prepare the Chicken:
Pat the chicken dry with paper towel and season generously with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Stuff the cavity with the herbs bouquet garni and garlic.
- Prep the vegetables:
Peel and trim carrots and onions, wash and dice the celery stalks and clean the mushrooms with a paper towel, leaving them whole.
- Roast the chicken with the veg
Coat a casserole dish with olive oil, add the seasoned chicken, the vegetables, drizzle or brush a little olive oil to help them get a nice color, and roast at 200 ° C for 75 minutes, basting with the juices a few times.
- Make the Red Wine Gravy:
In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour until smooth. Gradually whisk in the red wine, and keep stirring until the sauce thickens, this will take 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Blend the sauce:
When the roast time is up, check the chicken is cooked (juices run clear) and remove it to a platter to rest, removing the garlic and herbs from the cavity (add the garlic to the sauce). Pour the red wine gravy over the chicken juices in the casserole and mix well. Return it to the oven with the lid on for another 15 minutes, the sauce will be lovely and savory. Remove the garlic from the sauce.
- Serve and Enjoy!
Carve the chicken and divide between plates, pouring the sauce and vegetables on or around it. Add you favorite mash and enjoy!
Pro Tips
- Take the chicken out of the fridge 20-30 minutes before cooking.
- Make sure the chicken is dry before seasoning well.
- To get crispy chicken skin and nicely roasted veg, keep the lid off of the cast iron casserole.
- Remove the chicken from the casserole dish on a platter or a tinfoil tray, so you can pour the red wine sauce in the casserole and combine with the chicken juices, it’s easier to stir without breaking the chicken.
- If you decide to go for a larger chicken, follow the cooking times from the pack label, checking that there are no pink juices (juices running clear).
- Start making the red wine gravy around 15 minutes before the roasting time is up. This way you will avoid the sauce developing a skin, but if it does, you can always pass it through a sieve or just ignore it, it will still be delicious and it will blend in with the chicken juices anyway.
Preparation time
It takes around 15 – 20 minutes to prepare the veggies.
I am being generous here, because I know myself (not always super organised 😉).
roasting time
The chicken and veg take around 75 minutes to roast, but depending on your chicken size could take longer.
sauce cooking time
After combining the red wine gravy with the chicken juices, let the flavors of the sauce come together for another 15 minutes while the roast chicken rests.
Total time
This means in less than 2 hours you will have made a wonderfully elegant and delicious roast dinner for your family or guests.
Nutritional benefits
Of course the abundance of vegetables, herbs and spices makes this dish such a wholesome nourishing option. Admittedly, the roast chicken is a bit indulgent. You are celebrating after all!
Servings
This recipe yields 6 portions, enough for a small gathering.
What to serve with thanksgiving chicken
- The top of this list is mashed potatoes, why, of course (psst…if you want the best mashed potatoes recipe, you can steal it from my cottage pie recipe, it is an absolute steal 😂) ! Picture that luscious gravy drenching the fluffy mash, absolute perfection in my opinion.
- All of your traditional side dishes.
- More roast or steamed veggies, sweet potatoes casserole, or even a bread and butter savory pudding made with this soft and buttery sourdough sandwich bread and lots of melty Gruyere cheese.
- This stuffed butternut squash with feta will also make a unique pairing, or even just the roast butternut! Scoop the lovely flesh and mix the sauce in, yum!
- And if you are a pickle lover like me, this naturally pickled cauliflower balances the richness of the red wine sauce.
variations and substitutions
- Wine Choice: Use a lighter red wine, I love Malbec, but Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir work well.
- Herbs and Spices: This dish asks for robust herbs, I suggest rosemary and thyme are great substitutions or even additions. This dish is not meant to be spicy, so I would not suggest being heavy-handed with the chili flakes, but I added some crushed pink peppercorns in the sauce, they are fragrant and certainly compliment the flavors.
- Vegetables: Feel free to add or substitute different vegetables, like Brussels sprouts, parsnips, squash, cauliflower or baby new potatoes. Just adjust the cooking time as needed.
- Pancetta: If you don’t have pancetta, you can use a thick back bacon cut into cubes or omit it altogether.
You can have this Thanksgiving chicken as a roast dinner any Sunday too. Serve it with fluffy mash of your choice and you are in heaven.
- If you make my recipe, take a snapshot for your Instagram
- Post and tag me @candyflossiecooks😉🤗!
- Don’t forget to rate my recipe! It will make my day!
recipe FAQ
Indeed you can! That’s the point of this recipe! The roast chicken will be delicious, juicy, will cook faster than turkey. It is also more affordable if you have a smaller Thanksgiving party.
You can certainly prep the vegetables ahead of time and store them in the fridge. You can also season the chicken and store in the fridge overnight. But the roast chicken and red wine gravy are best eaten freshly roasted.
I would shred the leftover chicken, mix with the sauce and add everything to a curry base with chickpeas and tomatoes. Serve over rice or mop up with flatbread.
Yes, you can freeze the leftovers in an airtight container.
Thanksgiving Chicken Recipe
Equipment
- 1 roasting casserole or pan (I used a cast iron casserole dish with lid)
- 1 saucepan for making the gravy
- 1 Chopping board
- 1 knife
- 1 spatula
- 1 whisk to whisk the roux for the gravy
- 1 pair of tongue to lift the chicken from the roasting pan
Ingredients
For the roast chicken
- 1 medium chicken (1.2-1.5 kg)
- 1 teaspoon salt (to season the chicken with)
- ½ teaspoon black pepper (to season the chicken with)
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (or any seasoning blend that goes with roast chicken)
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 10 small (pearl) onions or shallots peeled, whole
- 1 lb baby carrots or 4 larger carrots cut into chunks
- 2-3 celery stalks finely diced
- 2 -3 handfuls baby button mushrooms whole, cleaned
- A bouquet garni I used 3 fresh bay leaves and 3 rosemary sprigs
- half head of garlic to stuff in the chicken cavity
- 100 g pancetta or bacon lardons optional
For the sauce:
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- 2 heaped tablespoons of plain flour
- ¾ bottle red wine (500 ml)
- Salt and pepper to taste (approximately ¼ teaspoon)
Instructions
Prepare the Chicken:
- Pat the chicken dry with paper towel, coat with olive oil and season generously with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Stuff the cavity with the herbs bouquet garni and half of a head of garlic.
Prep the vegetables:
- Peel and trim the carrots and onions, wash and dice the celery stalks and clean the mushrooms with a paper towel, leaving them whole.
Roast the chicken with the veg
- Coat a casserole dish with olive oil, add the seasoned chicken, the vegetables, drizzle or brush a little olive oil to help them get a nice color, and roast at 200 ° C for 75 minutes, basting with the juices a few times and pushing the roast veggies under the chicken.
Make the Red Wine Gravy:
- While the chicken is roasting, make the red wine gravy. In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour until smooth. Gradually whisk in the red wine, and keep stirring until the sauce thickens, this will take 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Blend the sauce:
- When the roast time is up, check to make sure the chicken is cooked (juices run clear) and remove it to a platter to rest, removing the garlic and herbs from the cavity.
- Add the garlic to the sauce in the casserole. Pour the red wine gravy over the chicken juices in the casserole and mix well. Return it to the oven with the lid on for another 15 minutes, the sauce will be lovely and savory. Remove the garlic head from the sauce.
Serve and Enjoy!
- Carve the chicken and divide between plates, pouring the sauce and vegetables on or around it. Add you favorite mash and enjoy!
Video
Notes
follow me on Instagram
