’tis the season for delicious roasted things, and also for busting out the cast iron.

I have shied away from cast iron in the past, mostly because it’s heavy and seems a little fussy. But Lancaster Cast Iron sent me this glorious 5-quart Dutch oven to test, and I think I am in love. This company makes all of their cast iron in Lancaster, PA; it is safe for use on all types of stoves (gas, electric, induction, etc) and is PFOA and PTFE free. The more I use it, the more non-stick it gets; there is a learning curve with cast iron, but once you figure it out it’s as easy as your chemical non-stick pans, even for eggs.

Yes, it is still heavy. But it cooks everything perfectly, including French onion soup beans (recipe coming soon), cheesy spicy black bean bake, and even a chocolate cake. Since it seems I will be flying solo for Thanksgiving, I wanted to give roasting a chicken a try. I have historically been very bad at what is a basic skill, roasting a chicken, with a breast that dries out before the thighs are done and the skin is crispy.

This chicken was perfection; the skin was crispy and flavorful and everything was juicy and cooked through (no more dried out chicken breast). The method is simple: preheat the oven to 475, layer onions and a chicken in the Dutch oven, roast uncovered for 15 minutes, then turn down to 350 until the chicken is fully cooked (I used a digital thermometer, aiming for 160), Let it rest for 10-15 minutes before serving.

You can slather whatever you’d like on the chicken, but here’s how I did it:

1. Chop two onions and spread them over the bottom of the Dutch oven (save skins).
2. Zest and juice two lemons (save squeezed rinds).
3. Dry the outside of the chicken thoroughly.
4. Generously salt and pepper the cavity, then stuff onion skins and lemon rinds into it.
5. Melt 4 tablespoons of butter and stir in four sprigs of chopped rosemary, five cloves of chopped garlic and the lemon zest.
6. Rub the butter mixture all over the chicken, and tuck some under the skin (this is key).
7. Carefully drizzle lemon juice over the chicken (be careful. You don’t want to rinse off your good butter stuff).
8. Roast at 475 for 15 minutes, then turn down to 350 and roast until done.
9. Rest for 10-15 minutes.

What I did not do is make a pan gravy with the juices, but that will certainly happen over Thanksgiving. You could also used chopped dried citrus in place of the fresh lemons (truly the same delicious result). You could also add potatoes and carrots on top of the onions if you like, but they will not be crispy-skinned at the end, as they have been in a delicious citrus-rosemary-chicken fat bath. Could grab the taters and make a mash, surely.

Thanks to Lancaster Cast Iron for sending me this beautiful piece of cookware to test. I recommend it unreservedly as a piece that will last a lifetime. I also have their #8 griddle to test and am considering trying out the Valhalla of cast iron finesse: crepes.