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Instant pot whole chicken

Instant pot whole chicken

By Charlotte Man
25’ Prep time
35’ Cook time
60’ Total time
577 Calories
8 Serving

Summary

Looking to make a juicy instant pot whole chicken? we’ll teach you how to add flavor and moisture to your whole chicken made in the instant pot!
Charlotte Man 0 Followers

Step by Step

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Step 1

Remove any innards from a whole chicken and pat the chicken dry with a paper towel to remove moisture. Set aside.
Step 2
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Step 2

Add peppercorns to a mortar and pestle and grind until the pepper turns into a coarse pepper. Add the garlic, brown sugar, thyme, and kosher salt to the mortar and mix together.
Step 3
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Step 3

Season the whole chicken with the spices and massage the spice mixture into the chicken. Over the skin, under the skin, and in between the skin.
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Step 4

Turn on the saute function of the Instant Pot and add oil to the pot. When the oil is fragrant, add the whole chicken to the pot, skin and breast side down to brown the chicken. Brown the chicken for 5 minutes, flipping halfway through. Remove the chicken from the Instant Pot and set aside.
Step 5
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Step 5

Deglaze the pan with the chicken broth and use a wooden utensil to break the brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Add half of the onion, garlic, and lemon slices into the pot. Then add the thyme and chives to the pot and stir. Place the Instant Pot’s metal rack on the bottom of the pot.
Step 6
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Step 6

Next, carefully place the pads of butter under the chicken skin and then take the remaining onion, garlic, and lemon slices and place it in the cavity of the chicken. Place the chicken on top of the metal rack breast side up.
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Step 7

Seal the Instant Pot and cook for 25 minutes on high pressure. Natural release for 15 minutes and remove the chicken from the Instant Pot and let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
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Step 8

Make the gravy. Remove the metal rack from the Instant Pot and scoop out ⅓ cup of the gravy from the bottom of the pot. Add 2 teaspoons to the ⅓ cup of gravy and whisk until combined. Pour the cornstarch mixture back into the Instant Pot and bring to a simmer with the saute function. The gravy should thicken quickly.
Step 9
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Step 9

Carve the chicken and serve with gravy.

Tips and Warnings

  • Be sure you have at least a 6-qt Instant Pot for this recipe, any smaller will not fit a full chicken.
  • We used grapeseed oil for this recipe because it browns the chicken really well, but any oil will work. How brown your chicken is will vary by oil. Feel free to use different spices or fresh herbs.
  • You can omit the gravy and serve this chicken shredded or for any other recipe that uses chicken.
  • If you would like the chicken skin to be more crispy, after the chicken is removed from the Instant Pot, place it under a high broil in the oven for 3-4 minutes or until it reaches your desired crispiness.

Ingredient

  • Garlic cloves
    Garlic cloves
    6
  • Large lemon
    Large lemon
    1
  • Cornstarch
    Cornstarch
    9.86 ml
  • Butter
    Butter
    59.15 ml
  • Chicken broth
    Chicken broth
    236.59 ml
  • Dried thyme
    Dried thyme
    9.86 ml
  • Small white onion
    Small white onion
    1
  • Sprigs fresh thyme
    Sprigs fresh thyme
    3
  • Dried chives
    Dried chives
    9.86 ml
  • Granulated garlic
    Granulated garlic
    14.79 ml
  • Kosher salt
    Kosher salt
    73.93 ml
  • Light brown sugar
    Light brown sugar
    14.79 ml
  • Of oil
    Of oil
    29.57 ml
  • Raw whole chicken
    Raw whole chicken
    1.96 kg
  • Whole peppercorns
    Whole peppercorns
    14.79 ml

Nutrition Facts

View nutrition facts
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