Wanted to start making healthy low sodium meals for Mom so instead of a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket we bought an all natural, free range, organically fed chicken to bake. Baking directions did not include stuffing. Bought low sodium stove-top stuffing. I asked Mom if I should stuff the chicken with it. She was a good cook in her younger days. She said yes, that is how she liked it. Didn't know that it took hours more. One hr cooking time turned out to be several hours. The popper still hasn't popped up and I put the chicken in at 3:30 thinking it would be ready at 4:30. The drum sticks look tender but the stuffing inside doesn't look cooked. How long do I keep cooking? It was a 4.62 lb chicken. Mom waited 2 hours after her reg dinner time, I made a Silver Cuisine dinner she didn't like, then scrambled eggs. Could the chicken stuffed take 3 or + hours?
You should make the Stove Top stuffing in a saucepan FIRST, then you can stuff it into the bird (if you have to) when it's done. A stuffed bird (at that weight) can take an extra 30 minutes to make sure the chicken is fully cooked.
I can't see why the stuffing wouldn't be "done" because it's already been fully cooked/prepared in the saucepan before you put it in the cavity. It may not "brown" well but it would be cooked.
The reason a stuffed bird takes longer is because the stuffing is dense and it has to heat up like the bird was pure meat from side to side, instead of an open cavity to let hot air circulate.
I Googled "cook a stuffed chicken, how long 4 1/2 pounds:
How long do you cook a whole stuffed chicken?
High heat method (this creates a crispy, darker skin):
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) and cook whole (thawed) chicken for 10-15 minutes.
Then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and roast for 20 minutes per pound.
In my book, you should NEVER put stuffing inside a bird; you cook it separately.
Also, did you prepare the stove top stuffing according to the directions and cook in on the stove top? Or did you just stuff it dry into the bird. Dry stuffing is not going to "cook" in any way.