Baking a whole chicken in the oven just fills the house with such an amazing smell. The savory scent is sure to make your taste buds water. This recipe, albeit very simple, is probably one of my favorites. The results will leave you with one of the juiciest chickens you’ve had in a while.

Start by preparing your chicken. Once I remove it from the wrapping, I like to rinse it off and then pat it with some paper towels. Next, preheat the oven to 350 degrees while you finish preparing the chicken. This recipe is for a 6-pound chicken, so you may have to adjust the time based on the size of your chicken.

First, I drizzle it with garlic infused olive oil. You can also try it with butter infused olive oil or simply rub butter on the outside. This will help lock in moisture and give something for the seasonings to adhere to.

Next is the seasoning. You can’t live in Florida without using Everglades Seasoning. This is our family’s favorite, and we buy it by the bucket! Generously add seasonings to the inside and out. If you don’t have Everglades, get some, but in the meantime, I would recommend using garlic powder, salt, black pepper and onion powder.

Place the chicken in a seasoned cast iron Dutch cven, adding bay leaves to the wings and inside the cavity. With the lid on, place it in the preheated oven and bake for a couple hours. The internal temperature of the chicken should be 165 degrees once it’s done. About 20 minutes before it’s complete, remove the lid and allow the outer skin to become brown and crispy.

Remove from the oven, and while resisting the temptation to cut into it, it’s best to let it sit for about 10 minutes which will allow the juices to settle into the meat. Slice and serve.

inspired by the SOUTH