How to Make Crispy-Skinned Cast-Iron Baked Chicken 

2 tsp salt 2 tsp paprika 1 tsp black pepper 1/2 tsp onion powder 1/2 tsp garlic pepper Preheat cold cast iron skillet in cold oven 450°. Season chicken liberally. 2 pats of butter in fully heated skillet. Place chicken skin side down. Cook for 15 mins, flip. Cook other side 15 mins. Must read (165)175 on thighs. Highlights, not full recipe. You're welcome.

I've moved in with my elderly parents. One of the many things I do is all their meals. Fortunately, I truly LOVE to cook. America's Test Kitchen has improved upon so many of my standard recipes. We have always loved chicken in my family and I decided to try this recipe. It was, without question, the best chicken we've ever had. My mother is from Alabama and said her mother cooked roast chicken at least once a week, frequently twice. My father is from New York and said his mother cooked chicken all the time. Suffice to say, we eat a lot of chicken. This recipe was so easy. I did put the spices on the chicken about 90 minutes prior to cooking it to let them get into the meat. Unbelievably good chicken! Skin was crisp and brown, meat was soft, tender, and juicy. Both were LOADED with flavor. Side were mac & cheese (homemade, of course) and green beans. I made it again tonight with mashed potatoes instead of mac & cheese. It's already on the menu for Monday night. Admittedly, I won't be cutting up my own chicken again. It's really not hard, but I have Parkinson's and people with shaky hands really shouldn't be using razor-sharp knives. That's okay, my butcher will gladly cut the chicken for me. You can bet your bottom dollar that my parents and I will be having this chicken at a minimum of once a week.

I’m a 73 year old wannabe chef who dabbles in cooking. And I REALLY enjoy America’s test kitchen for reasons that should be entirely obvious if one watches. I made this recipe for dinner this evening and I have some comments. Probably due to inaccuracy in my oven temperature, after 30 minutes the internal temp of the chicken was over 200 degrees. It wasn’t terribly overdone, but close. I suggest that after 15 minutes, when it’s time to flip the chicken, take the temp of the chicken to see ‘where you’re at’, so to speak.. And then gauge (guess?). the time remaining. Like me, you may not require the additional 15 minutes that Natalie suggests. As regards the seasoning, I found the chicken to be saltier than I prefer. Next time around, I would alter the recipe from 2 tsp of salt to one, same amount as the pepper. As the old lady said when she kissed the cow………’Every man to his own liking’. Best Wishes from Toronto.

I like how well she explains each step as she goes. I didn’t feel talked down to & yet she made sure I understood what was happening & why.

I butterflied the chicken (spatchcock style), used the same spices as per the video but also added 1/2 TSP of thyme. I cooked for 30 mins skin side down and 15 mins skin side up. It was the best chicken I’ve ever cooked at home. Glad I purchased a cast iron skillet and also saw this recipe.

Don't throw away the wing tips. Freeze them. When you have enough frozen, makes excellent chicken stock. The wing tips have the highest amount of collagen of any part of the chicken.

Aw, Natalie was a childhood friend of mine. I don't know how I came across this video, but glad she is doing well and is successful :)

Just made this 28 Sept 2021 for dinner. If I could give this process 10 stars I would . The juices after baking are really good for dipping your chicken in. Don't discard the juices, they are great. I really recommend this. Job well done test kitchen.

Just made this tonight!!! The FlaVA!!!! Was the best I’ve had at home for sure! Follow the spice mix recipe to a T and season both sides like she said!!! Delicious!! I overlooked my breast a bit so next time I will check the temp earlier but STILL the Best!!! The drippings are HEAVENLY thanks AGAIN ATK!!! Home run recipes EVERY time

I tried it out yesterday...it came out great!! Highly recommended recipe.

We raise our own chickens and are about this size. This is a perfect recipe! I really enjoy Natalie’s presentations.

I love cutting up our families whole chickens. She does her cutting so eloquently. I would expect nothing less from this awesome channel.

Thanks for this recipe! We had it for our Sunday dinner, my 85 yr old mother loved it! The chicken was so flavorful and tender!

I tried this recipe for dinner tonight, except I also added red chili powder. OMG! It was so freaking delicious. Better than Buffalo Wild Wings. I ate entirely too much, but I just could not help myself.

I like her. More of Natalie!

So easy! Few recipes turn out perfect the first time but this was exactly what I wanted. I used a bone-in split chicken breast and followed the recipe exactly. I wanted a better way to cook chicken for soup and chicken salad. Thank you so much!

Thank you, ATK! Since I saw this episode this recipe has become my go-to for cooking chicken pieces at home. It's as easy and quick as other methods of cooking chicken in the oven or stovetop, but the results are better. My family was wowed. Crispy skin and beautifully browned, and tender juicy flesh. I've cooked it twice with packs of bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs in a 10" skillet. I think they were 1.25-1.5lbs. That's enough to serve two people but the three of us wanted more, so I'm now planning on buying a 12" skillet in the near future. I needed one anyway, but this recipe is what has put me over the edge. Interestingly, the recipe as written doesn't use the stove at all. You can make the entire recipe in a large countertop (toaster) oven or an outdoor pizza oven! I'm sure that's very convenient for some people. So far the only tip I have for other cooks is that if you have a _very heavy_ stainless "clad" skillet you can skip the initial hearing of the pan in the oven and use the stove since it heats much more evenly than cast iron or carbon steel. But it's still essential to make this recipe in a skillet (or pan) that really retains heat. For most people, that means cast iron or carbon steel but if you shop around you can find some comparably heavy stainless-clad pans as well that, while not holding as much heat as typical cast iron, retain enough heat to make this dish without compromise. This tip won't help many people, but might save a little trouble for some of you who have that kind of pan. I have a skillet like that. I preheat the oven, season the chicken, heat the pan on the stove and put the chicken in it, then put it in the oven. Flip halfway through cooking, and that's all there is to it. The trickiest part is not burning yourself on the skillet handle (easy to avoid: I cover it with my oven mitt when it's hot and out of the oven). This recipe is simple and easy to follow and beautiful. Plus it's easy to experiment with other spice mixes and what have you. I think I'll be making it for years to come.

Thank you for cast iron recipes!! More, more, more!!!!

I have made this dish 4 times and it has always come out great. Everyone likes it and always comment they like the juice from the pan. What I like is the chicken I buy is from Costco and it cost $1.49 a pound (as 6/14/2022). So I get two whole chickens for about $17; therefore one chicken cost about $8.50. Add in some mashed potatoes and broccoli and I feed a family of 5 for about $2.25 a person. I love that. Thank you Natalie and Bridget.

Made this a few times and followed the exact recipe. Absolutely delicious each and every time!!😋😋😋

Now I need to find a whole chicken! I absolutely love all the recipes I’ve made from your videos. I have been making homemade beans, many meals are made with baked potatoes, now pan baked chicken, I have beans and rice on the menu, bread & butter pickles (hadn’t canned in decades!). Love your videos. Thank you for what you do. ❤️

This was really very good. I brined the chicken pieces in a water/ salt mixture overnight. I used the pan drippings to make a pan gravy with mashed potatoes. Delicious..

Probably my fave chicken dish EVER. I make this 2-3 times a week... I however use legs and thighs only. And have shared this recipe with many friends who feel the same. Sometimes i will roast veggies in the pan the last 15 minutes of cooking.

Absolutely delicious!!! My kitchen smells heavenly :) Lifetime recipe, thank you young lady :)

I've been using my cask iron pan to make chicken thighs like this for years. Yummy 😋

I just cooked this dish. Left it on the table and walked away for a bit, came back, GONE!! My family could not stop raving about it. Thanks for another great recipe.

I've made this at least 10 times!!! My go too chicken recipe! I've sent it to family and friends!!! Love it!!!!!❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️thank you😊😊😊😊😊

Okay made it! Excellent method of cooking chicken. The crispness of fried chicken with the tenderness and moistness of baked chicken and didn't take all day. Thank you! This is my go to now. I followed your instructions and it turned out excellent. Another edit. I am old and have been cooking for pleasure (mine and others) for years. Times are getting hard and chicken is fairly cheap. This recipe is cheap as you can get and you and your family will be happy with the results. I can honestly say I will probably never deep fry chicken again. I am always looking for a different way to cook chicken to keep it interesting. If you see this video. Try the recipe. You are probably going to need a cast iron skillet/pot that is where the crusty goodness and sauce is coming from. You can not get this from anything other than cast iron, IMO..... really, try this procedure out, you will not be disappointed.

Looks to be a wonderful recipe. I’ve been going full bore with BBQ chicken on my Weber Kettle. But it’s winter here in Toronto. So the warm interior of the house is appealing. And this chicken recipe appears to be the answer. Plus, over the past year I’ve taken a keen interest in the benefits of the cast iron skillet. So tomorrow evening it’s Crispy-Skinned Cast-Iron Backed Chicken a la Natalie.

It was dry the 1st time I made it. The 2nd time ,I brined it for 2 hrs. and it was perfect!!

Got to get me a cast iron skillet.

I think I like this method better than the baking sheet method you also offer. Thank you for both.

Oh yummy! Made this last night and it was a family favorite with the first bite!

This is the best chicken recipe I have ever done. I won't do any other. The chicken comes out perfect, moist, and delicious. Having the cast iron do most of the work makes quick work and an excellent dinner.

Natalie is great!

I did this for Thanksgiving with a spatchcocked 7 pound roasting hen in a 17” cast iron skillet. Absolutely AMAZING. Eat your heart out, Thomas Keller. 🐔❤️🐔

Bridget, you are so sweet with Natalie!

HOLY SCHNY-KEE!!!!!!! This is the juiciest, most tender flavorful chicken i have ever made! I have made great use of my cast iron skillet that I don't use nearly enough, and, I broke down my first whole chicken. Breaking down the whole chicken was kind of fun and so worth it. . I owe you girls big time. Hmm, what do girls like....ah, I know, foot massages for you both!!!!!!

TV ovens are WONDERFUL! They never get dirty, nobody ever cleans them! Maybe you could do an episode on these magic self-cleaning ovens that you use?

I tried this recipe earlier tonight and (after taking way longer than the video depicted to break down the chicken despite thinking I knew what I was doing, but that's mostly me overestimating my cooking skills) this is a serious contender for best roast chicken I have ever had.

One trick that consistently works well for me is to scald the chicken skin with boiling water before doing any roasting/baking. If you put the whole chicken on a cooling rack across the top of your sink, and use a pour-over kettle to pour boiling water over it, you'll see the skin shrink and tighten from the scalding. Flip the bird and scald the rest of it. Then pat it dry and break it down and season it. The pan-frying part won't be necessary; just bake it skin side up at that point. Something about scalding the skin makes it crisp up really well. I suspect the fat pre-renders when you scald it. The hot water also does something to the protein matrix that seems to let the fat render out better.

love this recipe and I'm looking forward to more from Natalie.

This is a great recipe, I have already used it 4 times...my husband said it is the best chicken he has every eaten. That said a lot. So I will be using this recipe and try other seasonings as well...thumbs up girls..

Looks like a great staple recipe that I will definitely try tonight - thank you. I absolutely love this kitchen!

My new favorite.chicken recipe! Simple, tasty and skin was so delicious! Was able to reheat the leftovers in the oven for another meal! Thank you!

I tried it out yesterday...it came out great!! Very easy to make. I love all my irons cast. I will make again!

The spice rub works on so many things that I always keep some on hand. I have not tried the chicken yet because I don't want a greasy oven to clean. But I believe I will finally try it with the large skillet and just a few pieces of chicken in the center.

Dan also did this with a spatchcocked chicken about 3 years ago, and I tried it - highly recommend!

I would cook that in a heartbeat. Looked great, and, easy enough for even me to cook

I enjoy your content and have used your recipes. Thank you. I’d like to see a playlist of all recipes that use the cast-iron skillet along with more of such recipes.

ATK rolling out with them vids to fill the black hole that BA created

Made this recipe today but instead of thyme which I didn’t have, I used rosemary. Best chicken I’ve ever made! Thank you for a fool proof recipe!

Adding that to this week's shopping list. As a follow up, stock from the discarded pieces

I made this today and it was amazing and so easy. This is a keeper for sure.

Wow, that really looked good. Thanks.

I did this following the recipe exactly and it was great! Juicy and delicious chicken. I felt that it turned out a bit salty, so I may adjust for that in the future. Thanks!

This cast iron baked chicken is even better than it looks. This has become a regular meal in my kitchen it's great and so easy

This absolutely qualifies for the carnivore diet.

I’m ready to make this. I have everything including the chicken. Thank you for sharing. ❤️❤️👏👏👏

I made this today and it came out amazing! The skin was really crispy and the chicken was still juicy! And that was before I poured the gravy over it! Thank you for sharing!

Tried this and it was so tasty, I’ll never do it any other way

Looks delicious and easy pan sauce with no prep!

I tried this once using 2 breasts and 4 legs. It worked great. Thank you to ATK for its practical and useful videos. I did put a coating of grapeseed oil in the pan before heating. I was concerned that without it, the butter would scald. May I ask have others applied the butter without oil as the video suggests? Did your butter hold up OK? I will try this again tonight. Also. I did pour the drippings into another vessel as I was concerned that the whisk would scratch the cast iron pan, or is my concern there unfounded? Just an old guy, who has done BBQ and Cookouts for years, trying to now learn how to cook in the kitchen. I find the ATK videos very helpful. Thank you

I love how Natalie baked that chicken and it looks great and must be so delicious too. She has come up with some great looking dishes with the help of the other chefs there at the kitchen.

Thanks! I needed a recipe like this and was really easy to follow! 😊

You can also get packages of thighs with skin on and bone-in. Leg quarters as well.

This looks DELISH! So making this.

Add a little butter, lemon and sugar to the spice mixture and baste the chicken - really good. Serve with crispy french-fried onions. Recipe idea comes from an old Good Housekeeping magazine that compared winning chicken recipes by the year - technically it call for flattening the chicken quarters and broiling but at the heat they are using, it's pretty much the same deal.

I have done this MANY times. Great recipe. I do alter my rub by adding some Jerk seasoning, a quarter tsp blackening seasoning and a few other spices

I followed this recipe and oh my was the chicken good!

i love you guys and all the recipes. down home cooking made quick and easy.

I make my chicken this way, but mix the spices with the butter then rub the mixture all over the chicken. Preheat the pan on the stove top. Brown each side of the chicken. Throw it in the oven to finish cooking.

I've been cooking chicken this way and blowing minds ever since I watched this. Thank you🤘

May be the best baked chicken I've ever had! Recipe is perfect.....why didn't I think of cast iron pan before this ?? I never would have done 450 on my own but as I said, the recipe is perfect. Actually made a small pot of chicken soup with the back, neck and wings, No waste!

Thank you... I'll make this!

Made it it was really good and easy

Great video. Great info. More cast iron videos please. Thanks

I enjoy watching Bridget!

Natalie is great! Let's see more stuff from her!

I’m going to try this a whole chicken in my cast iron Dutch oven.

Simple, quick & delicious best way to cook 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻💖

Okay. Just finished devouring my chicken and potatoes! Yeah devouring is the best and fastest way to eat when you crave something and some nice folks from test kitchen just post a video that gets your cooking taste buds going "i want that!!!" Plus it goes in the "no brakes" category of my cooking repertoire! Thank you so much for this keeper recipe! The aroma here is AMAZING! Outside a whopping -30c.😋🙃🤤😋

Natalie is the bomb. Love her lots!

Used 4 bone in chicken breasts and it was great! Me and the wife each ate one and made chicken salad the next day for lunch!! So good!!

If you want the skin even crisper,........put the broken down chicken in the sink, skin side up, and pour boiling water over the skin. When cooking, the fat has to render from the skin, before it will crisp. The boiling water does that, before it goes in the pan. You can see the skin draw up, as the water hits it. Once you've done this, pat the chicken dry and carry on.

I am a baked chicken eater expert. So there!

I sub smoke paprika for regular, only used 1\2 tsp salt and added some flour to sauce. Came out perfect.

Great job Natalie! Looks delish..I will be making soon.

This will be my next Chicken Dish!

Looks delicious! Any way to extend the sauce? I loke a lot of sauce.

Thank you for this tutorial. I have been searching for such a recipe that ensures a crispy skin and look forward to trying it. Only problem: keeping Kosher means no dairy with meat and hope that substituting olive oil for the butter will be OK.

Simple and delicious! Love it!

I made this once and the wings came out so nice and crispy that I just made it again with wings only. It was great!

This dish plus the greek chicken are on my constant rotation. Plus--THANK YOU so much for the quick and easy "How to cut apart a chicken using Gravity". I use a chinese cleaver and it makes quick work of a chicken. AND this method did just as well on my holiday turkey. The only thing extra I needed was a rubber mallet to crack the keel bone. The spine didn't need it this year.

excellent looking chicken, will be trying this one for sure!!! Cheers

I've made this before and I just made it again today...fantastic

It looks so delicious. You're very good at cooking. That's a good recipe. wow good Information. ☺️💚

Really TASTY & EASY chicken recipe, my fam loves it!

Great teaching. I’ll be doing this for dinner. Thanks

Any recipe that calls for a whole chicken to be broken down I am already a fan of.