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I’m making it a personal mission to commission whole chickens on the Thanksgiving table instead of turkeys. I personally think chicken is much more flavorful and far better tasting than turkey. The recollections of Thanksgiving dinner for me are dried turkey slathered in tons of gravy so I don’t choke as I swallow the turkey.
I know you all are probably cringing at that visual but it’s true. Perhaps we could have researched ways to make this dryness issue less of a possibility but in reality we had so much other stuff going on for the holiday that we weren’t really going to do that.
Now that I have had some time to play around with my pressure cooker, I had a revelation. Stick Shenandoah Valley Organic’s whole chicken inside. The result? Super moist and tender chicken. I could barely pull it out of the pressure cooker because the meat was basically falling off the bone. I had to be ever so gentle with it but you totally don’t have to. I did it because I had to photograph its awesomeness but if you’re just serving this amongst family and friends, the more that it’s falling off the bone I feel is more intriguing. Everyone will be waiting for that first bite!
This is my third recipe in my series with Shenandoah Valley Organic and with this specific post and recipe, I’m using their Farmer Focus whole chicken to show you how you can have an alternative to turkey this Thanksgiving.
Like previously mentioned, I am not a huge fan of turkey but I love chicken so this whole chicken made in the pressure cooker was my kind of showstopper. You can actually free up oven space because this is mainly made in the pressure cooker and you can keep it warm in the pressure cooker up until you need to quickly broil the outside of the chicken for that gorgeous dark brown color.
Shenandoah Valley Organic Farmer Focus brand makes it easy for me to pick my choice in meat. SVO prides themselves in the highest quality chicken grown on family-owned farms. The Farmer Focus brand gives you the ability to find out where your chicken is from (which farm it came from) by going to their website and typing in the farm ID that is on every Farmer Focus package. The organic chicken from SVO is humanely raised and a fed a diet free from animal byproducts, pesticides, and antibiotics. Pretty easy choice in terms of your Thanksgiving meat alternative, right?
Just look at the crust on the outside of the bird! The honey butter and herbs give the chicken awesome flavor and extra crispy skin — one of the best parts of chicken, right?
Pressure Cooker Honey Butter and Herb Roasted Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken, about 4 pounds, giblets removed
- 1 bunch fresh poultry herbs (sage, rosemary, thyme)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 lemon, halved
- ½ onion, quartered
- 1 cup (237 ml) chicken stock
- 4 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme
Instructions
- Pat dry the exterior of your whole chicken and season with salt and pepper. And set on a large plate or cutting board.
- Wash your hands then put the poultry herbs into the cavity along with the onions and lemon halves.
- Place the whole chicken into the insert of your 6-quart pressure cooker then add chicken stock around the chicken.
- Using manual mode on your pressure cooker (I have an Instant Pot), change your pressure to high pressure and cook time to 35 minutes.
- While chicken is cooking, preheat oven to 450 °F (232 °C). In a small bowl, mix together butter, honey, and thyme.
- Once chicken is done, you can either do a quick-release of pressure or let it manually release. Either way, once the pressure is released, carefully lift out the chicken and place on a large casserole dish. Leave the liquid in the insert as you can make a gravy out of it later!
- Using your a brush or your hands (if you deem that the chicken is not too hot), spread the butter mixture all over the chicken. Making sure it gets in the nooks and crannies and the inside cavity.
- Bake in the oven for an additional 15-20 minutes to get the exterior nice and brown. You can choose to broil the exterior, too, but watch it as it takes less time.
- Let chicken rest for 15 minutes before carving and serving.
- For the liquid that is still in the pressure cooker insert: turn your pressure cooker to the saute function (if you don’t have that, you can pour the liquid into a small saucepan and this on the stove) then add 2-3 tablespoons of flour to the mixture to thicken into a gravy-like consistency. If you like it thicker, add more flour. Season with additional salt and pepper, to taste.
Thanks Julie, I wanted my free range rooster to be tender and still have color so I am overjoyed to see your recipe, I’ve got it going right now, and I know it will be delicious as well as having a nice color- something most pressure cooked meats can’t get.
I am keto – what can I substitute the honey for??
i am not familiar with the keto diet at all, sorry
Hi Julie! Going to attempt this tomorrow for a two person Thanksgiving dinner. It looks incredible! Only question is how long in the oven and at what temperature after the IP? We live in Japan and don’t have a traditional oven (only a microwave oven), which I’ll be using throughout the evening for a bunch of other stuff. Unfortunately, no broiler :(
Hi Tina, it says in the instructions the temperature in step 5 and additionally it says for how long in step 8.
WOW I am blind. So sorry I didn’t even see those steps. Thanks so much ?
I followed this chicken recipe exactly and it was delish! I am having 15 people over for dinner next week and I wonder if I could adapt it using chicken breasts so I can feed more people? What do you think? I am no chef! Thanks.
If your pressure cooker allows for 15 chicken breasts to be put in there, definitely. However, I just worry that it won’t cook thoroughly because you’ll likely have to stack the breasts on top of another. I don’t know the best suggestion in this case because I don’t want to be the one to cause you to ruin dinner for 15 people lol
there are no instructions here, or ingredient list? we made this and loved it, bookmarked the page, and now there’s a whole story about it but no instructions?
I’m so sorry – it is there now! I was tweaking recipe plugins and I guess it didn’t convert some over. Thank you for pointing it out!
Thank you! This recipe is great.
I was hoping to use this to cook tonight, but the recipe isn’t showing on the page. :( Any way it could be emailed to me?
I’m so sorry – it is there now! I was tweaking recipe plugins and I guess it didn’t convert some over. Thank you for pointing it out!
Thanks so much!!! Have it going in the IP now!
Thanks for sharing such wonderful recipes. It is the fourth time I’m making this recipe and it turns out great every time!
Awesome! Thanks for sharing.
Wow..! I love chicken your dish looks so yummy and sounds is very well. I will trying to make this like you. Thanks for sharing…!
Thanks! I hope you enjoy!