We’ve done a handful of whole-roasted chickens on here, but we’ve never done this method like this. I am going to ask you to place your chicken directly on the rack of the oven, which might sound scary. Don’t let the method worry you, this will yield a rotisserie style result and dress your potatoes in the schmaltz from the chicken as they both cook. We borrowed this method from Carla Lalli Music in her book Where Cooking Begins.

If you have a Traeger grill, we have tested the chicken the same way, cooking it on the top rack above the potatoes and it lends a similar, smokey result.

Here, we call for a cooling rack. If you don’t have one, you can cook the chicken directly on the oven rack (just make sure it is clean).

The method of roasting the potatoes under the chicken works with most veggies! It does work with sweet potatoes, larger florets of cauliflower, leeks, etc., just with a little less “crisp” than a white potato.