The Recipe That Made Katie Lee Biegel’s Husband Fall in Love With Her

We've all heard of chicken recipes so good it will make the person you made it for want to marry you. There's Marry Me Chicken and there's engagement chicken, too. Celebrity television host Katie Lee Biegel recently shared her version on Instagram with a caption that claims its the dish that made her now husband, Ryan Biegel, fall in love with her. In Katie we trust, but we needed to find out for ourselves if this chicken would, as Beyonce sings, “put a ring on it.”

Katie explains that she made this dish for Ryan on one of their first dates. After a low-key day of movie-watching, she whipped up her roast chicken with croutons and served it with a bottle of red wine. It was a hit. 

What Is Katie Lee Biegel's Engagement Chicken?

It starts with a baguette. Cut five slices on the bias and then cover one side of each slice with butter. Set the slices buttered-side-down, in the middle of a pre-heated cast-iron pan. Place a whole chicken on top and season it with a mixture of salt, pepper and garlic powder. Add some herbs and aromatics to the cavity and then roast for about 1 hour. 

We have a similar recipe on our site—Million Dollar Chicken—that uses the same trick: Roasts a whole chicken on top of thick slices of bread. The bread soaks up all those chicken drippings while also crisping up in the pan for an instant side dish that's full of flavor.

Is Katie Lee Biegel’s Chicken Recipe Good Enough To Fall in Love With?

Biegel's chicken is so good, you’ll be licking your fingers! I made a few small tweaks, which I’m sharing below, but besides those, I stuck to her recipe as written. I loved the flavor—the chicken was perfectly salted and the meat was moist. I was worried about those bread slices, but I didn’t need to be. They were perfectly caramelized and packed with flavor, thanks to all of those herby, chicken drippings. 

I would definitely make this chicken again. A few minor adjustments are all that’s needed to recreate this dish at home with success. I’m already married so I can’t test the theory that this chicken would lead to an engagement. However, I can confidently say that it’s a dish that’ll make you fall in love with chicken.

Tips for Making Katie Lee Biegel's Engagement Chicken

• Add some more butter: Use an additional tablespoon of butter to keep the breast meat moist and add flavor. Spread the butter on top of the skin and then carefully pull the skin up and place some more right underneath the skin. Make sure your butter is softened or this will be a frustrating task. 
• Cover the chicken at the end of cooking: Check your chicken at the 45 minute mark to make sure the skin isn’t browning too quickly. If you notice things are going fast, tent the breast with a piece of foil to prevent it from burning and over-cooking.
• Tie the legs: Use kitchen twine (or dental floss!) to tie the legs together. This helps the chicken cook more evenly and helps seal up the cavity to keep the herbs, onion and garlic inside, but also prevent moisture loss. 

How To Make Katie Lee Biegel’s Engagement Chicken

Adapted from Biegel's original recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 (4- to 5-pound) whole chicken
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 1 small head garlic, cut in half horizontally
• ¼ to ½ yellow onion
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, divided
• 1/2 baguette

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Once preheated, place a 10 or 12-inch cast-iron skillet in the oven and preheat for 5 minutes.
2. Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Mix salt, pepper, and garlic powder together in a small bowl. Season the chicken inside and out with the salt mixture. Fill the chicken cavity with thyme, rosemary, garlic, and onion. Spread 1 tablespoon softened butter over the top and under the skin of the breast. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. 
3. Cut baguette into 1 ½ to 2-inch slices and spread the remaining butter over one side of each slice of baguette.
4. Remove the hot skillet from the oven and place the bread slices buttered-side-down in the center of the skillet. Place the chicken on top of the bread slices, covering the bread completely with the chicken. Roast until the chicken is golden brown, an instant-read thermometer reads 165°F, and the juices run clear, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
5. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and tent with foil. Let rest for 10 minutes before carving. Remove the baguette slices from the skillet and serve them alongside the chicken.

Serves: 4