Poulet en cocotte, encore une fois

This is my second time making this chicken in a pot. I made a few changes from the last time, and it totally paid off in taste.

Ingredients

1 (1.5kg) whole chicken, free range
1 tbsp coconut oil
knobs of grass-fed butter (Kerrygold)
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup chicken stock
3 carrots, chunks
1 parsnip, chunks
2 bulbs garlics, seperate into cloves, skin on
ground paprika
freshly ground mixed peppercorns
sea salt
dried marjoram

Preparation

1. Remove neck and giblets from chicken if required (they can be kept for other uses).
2. Rub the chicken with salt, paprika, pepper, and marjoram. Leave for 30 minutes.

Method

1. Melt the coconut oil in a cocotte (or Dutch oven) over medium-high heat.
2. Brown the chicken, breast side down, for 5 minutes or till skin is golden brown.
3. While the chicken is browning, stir in the carrot chunks and allow to lightly caramelise.
4. Stir in potatoes, garlic, and parsnip. Season accordingly.
5. Turn chicken, breast side up, and reduce the heat to medium-low.
6. Add water (to deglaze) into the cocotte and then the chicken stock and butter. Season the chicken and broth with more paprika, marjoram, and pepper.
7. Cover the cocotte and cook over a medium-low heat for 1 hour, or until the meat is cooked through (a meat thermometer inserted in the thigh registers 180 degrees C).
8. Halfway through, turn chicken breast side down.
9. Once the meat is cooked through, remove the chicken from heat and transfer to a cooking board, loosely tent with foil. Let it rest for 15 minutes.
10. Serve with mixed salad.

Notes:

1. The marjoram and garlic really brought this dish together.
2. The parsnips disintegrated into a purée. It wasn't terrible, but I shall be leaving them out in the future.