Recipes

Recipes — Home Chicken
Recipes

Simple recipes for better chicken.

Five foolproof recipes that use every cut you'll get from us. Pasture-raised chicken has more flavor than the supermarket stuff, so we keep the seasoning honest and let the bird do the talking.

The honest Sunday roast.

Serves 4–62 hr (mostly hands-off)Whole Chicken

If you only learn one chicken recipe, learn this one. Crispy skin, juicy meat, four meals from one bird.

You need

  • 1 whole Home Chicken (3.5–4 lb), thawed in fridge overnight
  • Kosher salt (a lot — about 1 tbsp)
  • 1 lemon, halved
  • 4 garlic cloves, smashed
  • A few sprigs of rosemary or thyme
  • 2 tbsp olive oil or butter

How

  1. The night before (or at minimum 4 hours ahead): pat the bird completely dry. Salt all over — inside the cavity, under the skin where you can reach, generously across the breast and legs. Put it on a wire rack over a plate, uncovered, in the fridge. This is the most important step.
  2. 30 minutes before cooking, take the bird out of the fridge. Heat oven to 425°F.
  3. Stuff the cavity with lemon halves, garlic, and herbs. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine (or skip — it just helps the bird cook evenly). Rub the outside with the olive oil.
  4. Place breast-up on a wire rack set in a roasting pan or sheet pan. Roast 60–75 minutes until a thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh reads 165°F.
  5. Rest 15 minutes before carving. Don't skip this — cutting too early loses the juice.
Tip: the dry salt overnight is non-negotiable for crispy skin. If you forget, salt 1 hour before and pat dry again right before cooking.

Cast iron crispy thighs.

Serves 435 minBone-in Thighs

The cut chefs cook for themselves at home. Crispy skin without deep-frying.

You need

  • 4 bone-in skin-on thighs, thawed
  • Kosher salt, black pepper
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • Optional: 2 sprigs thyme, 2 garlic cloves smashed

How

  1. Heat oven to 425°F. Pat thighs completely dry. Salt both sides; pepper the skin side.
  2. Heat olive oil in a cast iron pan over medium-high until shimmering. Place thighs skin-side down. Don't move them.
  3. Cook 10–12 minutes — the skin should release from the pan when it's properly crisp. If it sticks, give it another minute.
  4. Flip. Add thyme and garlic if using. Transfer pan to the oven for 12–15 minutes until thermometer reads 165°F.
  5. Rest 5 minutes. Serve with the pan drippings spooned over.
Tip: the dry-skin rule from the roast applies here too. Wet skin steams instead of crisping.

Oven wings, no fryer.

Serves 41 hrWings

As crispy as deep-fried, without the mess. The wire rack and the heat are doing all the work.

You need

  • 2 lb wings, thawed and patted very dry
  • 1 tbsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp baking powder (not baking soda) — the crisping secret
  • Sauce of choice: buffalo, dry rub, garlic-parm, BBQ

How

  1. Heat oven to 425°F. Set a wire rack inside a sheet pan.
  2. Toss wings with the salt and baking powder until evenly coated. The baking powder is what gives oven wings the deep-fried crisp.
  3. Arrange in a single layer on the rack, not touching. Roast 45 minutes, flipping once at the halfway mark.
  4. Sauce immediately after pulling from the oven — toss in a big bowl with whatever you like. Eat with napkins.

10-minute chicken cutlets.

Serves 2–415 minBoneless Breast

For weeknights. Pound thin, sear hot, done in under 10 minutes from pan-to-plate.

You need

  • 1 pack boneless skinless breast (2 breasts), thawed
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • Kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder
  • 3 tbsp olive oil or butter
  • 1 lemon

How

  1. Slice each breast horizontally to make 2 thin cutlets per breast (4 total). Lay them between plastic wrap and pound to even 1/4-inch thickness with a rolling pin or meat mallet.
  2. Mix flour with 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp garlic powder. Dredge cutlets, shake off excess.
  3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high until shimmering. Cook cutlets 2 minutes per side, in batches if needed. Don't crowd the pan.
  4. Squeeze lemon over and serve. Great on a salad, in a sandwich, or over pasta with pan sauce.

Tuesday-night chicken soup.

Serves 4–630 minCarcass or thighs

The thing you make with leftover roast carcass, or from a fresh pack of thighs when you need dinner without thinking.

You need

  • 1 leftover roasted chicken carcass + some meat (or 4 raw thighs)
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 3 carrots, diced
  • 3 celery stalks, diced
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 8 cups water or your homemade stock (see breakdown guide)
  • 1 bay leaf, salt, pepper
  • Optional: 1 cup egg noodles or 1 cup rice
  • Fresh dill or parsley to finish

How

  1. In a large pot, sauté onion, carrots, celery in 1 tbsp oil with a pinch of salt until softened, 5 minutes. Add garlic, cook 1 more minute.
  2. Add the carcass (or raw thighs), water/stock, and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer.
  3. Simmer 25 minutes (longer if you want richer flavor, up to 90 minutes for a carcass).
  4. Remove the carcass. Pick off any remaining meat and add back to the soup. If using raw thighs: remove them, shred the meat with two forks, return.
  5. Add noodles or rice if using; simmer until tender. Salt and pepper to taste.
  6. Ladle into bowls, top with herbs, serve.
Tip: never let the broth reach a hard boil. A bare simmer = clear, clean-tasting soup. Boiling = cloudy and fatty.

Don't know what to do with the whole bird?
See the breakdown guide →

Cook something good and tag us — @homechicken
Questions? Email help@homechicken.com — a real person answers.