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Fall-Apart Dutch Oven Chicken

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Fall-Apart Dutch Oven Chicken is nothing short of amazing! One of my all time favorite Dutch oven recipes, we’re talking succulent, juicy, tender-as-can-be, and bursting with warm flavors. Delectable on its own and in dozens of other recipes.Shredded Fall Apart Dutch Oven Chicken in a square casserole dish with recipe title at the top.

I’m used to cooking tough cuts of meat for hours on end, at a low temperature, in order to create super juicy, “fall apart” results.

It’s one of my favorite things to do — my Braised Brisket Stew and Spiced Pulled Pork recipes are perfect examples.

Whole spices including cinnamon sticks, star anise and cloves, on a llight green wood board.These warming spices — cinnamon, cloves and star anise — are part of what leads to the success of this chicken. Wait until you taste the juices left in the Dutch Oven after these spices have made their way in.

Slow Cooking

I love slow cooking of all sorts. Especially when whatever I’m slowly cooking, slowly and continuously permeates my home — and sometimes the neighborhood — with its delicious aroma.

Close up of shredded Fall Apart Dutch Oven Chicken.Look at how juicy the pieces of chicken are — and with those warming spices . . . oh my!

I wondered what would happen if I did the same thing with chicken — something I would normally cook at a high temperature for a relatively short period of time.

Top view of a fiery orange Dutch Oven.This was my mom’s Dutch Oven — I think she bought it in the 60’s. There’s a whole lotta love in this pot!

I am certainly not the first person to think of this. After a quick Google search, it turns out, I’m more like the ten millionth! Ha!

Whole Fall Apart Duch Oven Chicken in the Dutch Oven.This is just before the chicken “fell apart.”

What is Fall-Apart Chicken?

  • Fall-Apart Dutch Oven Chicken is a whole chicken that is cooked in a covered Dutch Oven (go figure). The chicken is cooked in a way that it actually falls apart — in a most delicious way — with just a little prodding when it’s done.

Shredded Fall Apart Dutch Oven chicken in Dutch Oven.And here it is, “fallen-apart.”

What are the keys to making it?

  • The oven must be set to a very low oven temperature of about 250°F.
  • The chicken should cook for a little more than 1 hour per pound. The chicken is cooked through after about 1 hour, but you must keep going . . . and going, to get the best results.

As with many Dutch oven recipes that cook for a while, the active work time is short. In this recipe, it’s truly only about five minutes, then you can go about your business while it does its thing in the oven. Easy!

Chicken bones in chicken grease in Dutch Oven.This is what’s left after the whole chicken “fell apart.” Do you see how clean the bones are? That’s a clue that you’ve done everything correctly.

You guys! This Fall-Apart Dutch Oven Chicken recipe is really unbelievable! It’s so over-the-top juicy, succulent and flavorful.

You simply won’t be able to get enough.

Shredded Fall Apart Dutch Oven Chicken in casserole dish.

Not only is it spectacular (yep, spectacular!) on its own, but you can use it in dozens of other recipes. It would be excellent to use in salads, tacos, burritos, stews, sandwiches, and the list goes on.

Enjoy every last bite and may this become one of your favorite Dutch oven recipes too.

If you try this delectable chicken recipe or any of my other recipes, I’d love to hear what you think about it in the comments below. You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest to see more of my mouth-watering recipes!

5 from 13 votes
Print
Fall Apart Dutch Oven Chicken
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
4 hrs
Total Time
4 hrs 5 mins
 

This chicken is so succulent, juicy, tender-as-can-be! Delectable on its own and in dozens of other recipes.

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: comfort food recipes for fall and winter, chicken for family dinner
Servings: 4
Calories: 411 kcal
Author: Valentina K. Wein
Ingredients
  • 2 teaspooons kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ½ teaspoon ground star anise
  • 1 approximately (3½ pound) whole chicken
  • about 2 teaspoons grapeseed or other neutral oil
Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 250°F and adjust a rack to the middle.

  2. In a small dish, combine the salt, cinnamon, cloves and star anise.

  3. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels, and then gently loosen the skin all over, being as careful as possible not to tear it. Sprinkle all but about ¼ teaspoon of the spice mixture as evenly as possible under the skin, all over. Use your fingers to rub it in. Then sprinkle the rest on top of the skin, along with the oil and gently rub that in as well.

  4. Place the seasoned chicken in an approximately 4 quart Dutch oven, breast side down, cover, and place it in the preheated 250°F oven. Let it cook until it literally falls apart when you try to lift any part of it, about 4 hours.

  5. Take off the the lid, and let it sit until it’s cool enough to handle.

  6. Remove the skin — it should come right off, and then use your hands or a fork to help the chicken fall apart. This should happen pretty effortlessly just by picking up the legs. You can leave it in large pieces or shred it into bite-sized pieces.

  7. Once the chicken has been removed from all of the bones, drizzle it with some of the juices remaining in the Dutch oven.

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Comments

  3. Brian Jones says

    That looks so good, I love slower cooked pieces of meat, they always have so much flavour.

    Although the aroma of slow cooked food makes me “hangry” on so many occasions, having that wonderful odour wafting around the house can be torture, I want to eat all day long 😉 😀

    Reply

  5. Mel says

    Fall apart meat is just the best: full of flavours, melts in the mouth. I cook my gammon that way most of the time, but have never tried it with chicken. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  8. David @ Spiced says

    You weren’t lying when you said “fall apart” chicken, Valentina! This looks incredible. We often pick up rotisserie chickens to use the meat in other recipes…but now I can just cook it like this at home. This post is making me hungry, and I’m super intrigued by the cinnamon, cloves and star anise in there. Sounds yummy!

    Reply

  9. Jill Colonna says

    Gosh, as I’ve been reading your scrumptious post and looking at each step of the recipe, I’ve been salivating more and more – looks fabulous, Valentina. Great idea!

    Reply

  11. Diana says

    I didn’t know that you can cook a whole chicken in a dutch oven! I recently got a dutch oven and have only used it for simple things, will need to try more recipes. Looks great!

    Reply

  14. Jeff the Chef says

    Hmm, that’s very interesting. I eat a lot of chicken, and am always looking for new ways to cook it. I’ve never tried this, though. It’s easy, that I’ve got to try it. Thanks!

    Reply

  15. Ron says

    Slow and low braising is also my favorite way to cook. I’ve cooked a number of birds in my Le Cruset dutch oven, but never with your spice combo. It sounds wonderful and I’m sure it’s very tasty. I’ll be giving your spice blend a try on my next slow and low chicken.

    Reply

    • valentina says

      Hi Joanne, I believe it will. I haven’t tried it, so I can’t give you times, but I think it’ll turn out great. Please let me know how it goes in comments in case anyone wants to try it. Thanks so much! 🙂 ~Valentina

      Reply

  18. Gabriela says

    This is a fantastic recipe. Thank you so much for sharing. I must say I didn’t use the original recipe spices because my partner truly doesn’t like cinnamon, so instead I used paprika, garlic powder and some slices of chorizo that I put between the skin and the chicken breast. I left this for 4 hours, Result: super amazing chicken!!!!!! I honestly can’t believe how soft it is. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.

    Reply

    • valentina says

      Hi Gabriela, Thank you so much! I’m so happy you loved this! Paprika and garlic sounds great — and brilliant idea with the chorizo! Enjoy! 🙂 ~Valentina

      Reply

    • valentina says

      Hi Bettina. Thanks for writing in. 🙂 You can omit it and add either an additional 1/4 teaspoon of the cinnamon and cloves, or 1/2 teaspoon of allspice. Hope I’m not too late! Enjoy and thanks for checking out my recipes. ~Valentina

      Reply

  21. Inita Beer says

    I made this recipe! So simply. So delicious!! I was confused as to whether I needed to add a smidge of water. Recipe didn’t call for it so I didn’t. After an hour in the oven I checked on the chicken and it was perfectly coming along. I did add a smidge of white wine at this time but only because I had a bottle out and open. I didn’t have ground anise so I substituted I whole pod of star anise instead. Amazingly simple and delicious. My go to chicken recipe going forward. Thank you!!

    Reply

    • valentina says

      Hi there! Thanks so much for writing in. I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe. It’s one of our favorite ways to cook chicken. And a bit of wine can only help. 😉 Cheers and thanks for following Cooking On the Weekends, and stay well during this time. 🙂 ~Valentina

      Reply

    • valentina says

      Hi Marisa, Thanks for writing in. Yes, you can absolutely add carrots and potatoes. Delicious idea! If the potatoes and carrots are cut into bite-sized pieces, I would add them as follows . . . the carrots when there is about 1 hour left in the cooking time, and the potatoes when there are about 45 minutes left. Try to add them under and around the chicken. Then I would add about 15 minutes to the overall cooking time. The vegetables might not be done when the chicken is because of the low temp, so you can leave them in the pot after you take the chicken out and turn the heat up to about 350°F. Cook just until they’re tender. Be careful when you remove the chicken from the pot — since it should be “falling apart,” you don’t want any bones falling back into the pot with your vegetables. Once all of the chicken is removed from the bones and the veggies are cooked, you can mix the two together in the pot and season to taste. I hope this makes sense! Enjoy. 🙂 ~Valentina

      Reply

  24. Jenny Flyte says

    I love this recipe and make it often, so comforting and delicious. I am wondering if it would work using just chicken breast as I have some thawed in the fridge and am craving this recipe. What do you think? Would the breast dry out or be just as juicy? Thanks!

    Reply

    • valentina says

      Hi Jenny! Thanks for writing in. If the chicken breast is on the bone with skin, then yes. Enjoy! I’m so happy you like this recipe. 🙂 ~Valentina

      Reply

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