Erik’s whole chicken in a clay pot with red wine, root vegetables and parsley

Name: Erik’s whole chicken in a clay pot with red wine, root vegetables and parsley
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 1400 g Whole chicken — Whole gutted bird, about 1.3–1.5 kg including bones. Nutrition is estimated for 900 g edible meat with skin, excluding bones.; 500 g Potato — Small, scrubbed; halve with the skins on.; 200 g Celeriac — Peeled weight.; 200 g Carrot — About 3 slender carrots.; 120 g Yellow onion — About 1 yellow onion.; 10 g Garlic — About 3 garlic cloves.; 100 g Pickled pearl onions — Small pickled pearl onions, drained weight; a little liquid may be used. Check the label for sulphites.; 200 g Mushrooms — Small white button mushrooms, whole.; 300 ml Red wine — Dry red wine; check the label for sulphites.; 20 g Honey — About 1 tbsp.; 50 g Butter — For the pot.; 7 g Salt — Fine salt; adjust the juices after cooking.; 25 g Parsley — Fresh curly parsley.; 20 g Butter (optional) — Optional: small knobs for serving.

Whole chicken cooked with potatoes, root vegetables, mushrooms and pickled pearl onions in red-wine juices, finished with curly parsley. Adapted from Erik’s cooking; quantities and times are estimates and the recipe has not been kitchen-tested.

Servings: 4

Erik’s whole chicken in a clay pot with red wine, root vegetables and parsley — From Erik’s Cibello Kitchen episode.

New episode coming 16 November 2026 at 17:00

Ingredients

1400 g Whole chicken — Whole gutted bird, about 1.3–1.5 kg including bones. Nutrition is estimated for 900 g edible meat with skin, excluding bones.
500 g Potato — Small, scrubbed; halve with the skins on.
200 g Celeriac — Peeled weight.
200 g Carrot — About 3 slender carrots.
120 g Yellow onion — About 1 yellow onion.
10 g Garlic — About 3 garlic cloves.
100 g Pickled pearl onions — Small pickled pearl onions, drained weight; a little liquid may be used. Check the label for sulphites.
200 g Mushrooms — Small white button mushrooms, whole.
300 ml Red wine — Dry red wine; check the label for sulphites.
20 g Honey — About 1 tbsp.
50 g Butter — For the pot.
7 g Salt — Fine salt; adjust the juices after cooking.
25 g Parsley — Fresh curly parsley.
20 g Butter (optional) — Optional: small knobs for serving.

Method

Prepare a roomy lidded clay pot according to its manufacturer’s instructions, including any soaking and cold start. Drain excess soaking water. Peel the celeriac and onion. Roughly chop the onion, lightly crush the garlic and cut the carrots and celeriac into pieces about 2 cm across. Scrub and halve the potatoes without peeling them.
Put the root vegetables, potatoes, yellow onion, garlic and drained pickled pearl onions in the bottom. You may include a little pickling liquid for acidity. Place the whole chicken breast-side up and arrange the small whole mushrooms around it. If cooking several chickens, divide them and the vegetables between pots so the lids close.
Drizzle with the honey and season with salt. Pour the red wine into the pot and place the butter for cooking on top of the chicken. Put the lid on.
For a clay pot designed for a cold start, place it in a cold oven and set it to 200 °C. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for other pots. Cook covered until the chicken is fully cooked and the vegetables are tender, about 90 minutes; start checking earlier. Measure at least 74 °C in the thickest part of the breast and the innermost thigh without touching bone. Cook for longer if needed. If cooking more than one bird, check the temperature of each.
Set the hot pot on a dry, heatproof trivet. Rest the chicken for about 10 minutes. Roughly chop the parsley and scatter generously over the chicken and vegetables. Taste the juices and adjust the salt.
Portion the chicken and serve with the vegetables and red-wine juices in deep plates. If desired, add a small knob of the optional serving butter to each plate and let it melt into the juices.

Back to dinner ideas