Clay Pot Roasted Chicken

T (my son) and I decided to prepare a nice family style dinner. I bought a clay roasting pot from Ikea about 2 months ago and had never used it. In addition, I had a buy one (actually 2) and get one (actualy 2)coupon from Costco for whole chickens. Armed with the clay pot and 4 chickens, we went with the idea to roast a whole chicken.

T just returned from a long vacation on the island of Seychelle. He stayed with a family where he had the opportunity to learn to cook many of their recipes. He didn't write anything down but went only by memory. Using a blending of onions, garlic, lemon, various herbs, salt and pepper, we have Clay Pot Roasted Chicken.

Manufacturer recommeds soaking clay pot in water for at least 40minutes before first use.
T seasoned some fingerling potatoes with salt, pepper, parsley, lemon juice, a pinch of oregano and olive oil to cook with the chicken.
The clay pot was lined with parchment paper mainly to make cleanup easier and to assure that if there were leaks in the pot they would be minimalized.
Seasonings began with salt, pepper, lemon juice and olive oil
freshly ground pepper
herbs
Lots of onions and garlic to stuff the chicken
More onions and garlic
Clay pot removed from oven and ready for a Voila!


The chicken nicely browned in the covered clay pot. It was moist with a good consistency and very tasty. The aroma when the top of the pot was removed was fantastic. We actually didn't serve for about an hour after cooking was complete and the chicken held up without drying out and kept at a serving temperature.

So you all ask what influence Seychelle had on this chicken? I thought it was similar to anything we would do here. He added that in Seychelle, they would have cooked it with whole tomatoes, left out the potatoes and that's about it.