Sunday Night Roasted Juicy and Crispy Herb Chicken

Category: Main Dishes | Blog URL: http://spiciefoodie.blogspot.com/2009/07/sunday-night-roasted-juicy-and-crispy.html

This recipe was entered in The Foodista Best of Food Blogs Cookbook contest, a compilation of the world’s best food blogs which was published in Fall 2010.

Photo: Spicie Foodie

Ingredients

1 roasting chicken

1 large baking pan

sharp knife

1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) salt & pepper, of each

1 teaspoon (5 ml) garlic powder

1 teaspoon (5 ml) paprika powder

1 teaspoon (5 ml) of each dried basil, oregano, thyme , 1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) dried parsley

1 chicken bouillon cube ( look for a low sodium and with o

1 cup ( 250 ml) warm water , to dilute bouillon

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 176˚c /350˚ F, combine all the spices, prepare the bouillon, clean and prepare the chicken.

The first step is the trick to getting the spices to give the chicken a lot of the flavor. Breast side up, either with a knife or using your hand ( if they are small enough) you need to separate the skin from the breasts. With either your hand or a couple of fingers rug some of the spice mixture into both the chicken breast, and then rub spice mixture on top directly on the skin. Next try to do the same on the drumsticks, make a small incision for a couple of fingers and rub as well and as much spices underneath the skin. Use the remaining spice mixture to rub and cover the entire chicken top and bottom. Cross the drumsticks then put it in the roasting pan.

Dilute the bouillon in the water making sure it breaks up. Pour only a quarter of the liquid into the pan. Reserve the rest of the bouillon, you will add it gradually as the chicken cooks and the liquid in the pan begins to absorb. Check the chicken every 30 minutes and don't let the bouillon dry out, keep adding it. I cooked this chicken for 2 hours ( cooking time depends on weight, higher weight = longer cooking time. Please double check proper cooking times for the weight you use). I check on it every 30 minutes, the fat will begin to melt off and collect in the pan. Spoon up that liquid/fat mixture and pour it over the top of the chicken. Half way through the cooking time, flip the chicken over and cook for 30 minutes ( pour some of the collected liquid from the pan again), after 30 minutes flip again then finish roastin

Ready to serve!

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Comments

Permalink Matt
June 19, 2011

Roast potatoes are what is called for here!!! Great sounding recipe. Wishing I had a chicken in the fridge right now.

But I agree, there is something über-soothing about mash, roast chicken and a good gravy.

Great mash is not rocket science though: first, select the right potato - something white-skinned and floury (in the UK Maris Piper variety is the preferred choice); cut into reasonable sized chunks (halves, thirds, quarters, depending on size of spud) and stick into enough boiling water to cover (don't bother salting at this stage).

Cook well. They can even be falling apart a little - better overdone than under.

Next, drain into a colander and while you put them through your potato ricer (essential!), put the pan back on a very low heat with a good splash of organic full cream milk. This only needs a minute or so just to take the cold out - you are not looking to boil it.

Rice your spuds back into the milk. When you are done, add generous amounts of unsalted butter, finest sea salt and white pepper. You can play around with other additions here if you like - sautéed spring onions, leeks or cabbage are all brilliant.

Lick the spoon clean, smile and serve.

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About

Every body(well not vegans and vegetarians) likes chicken it seems to stand on neutral ground. Is that why everything is described as tasting like chicken? The current species we know today is a hybrid of the red and grey fowl that were raised thousands of years ago in the Indian subcontinent. I found conflicting information as to who were the first people to domesticate chicken, some say India others China. Chicken meat is inexpensive and one of the most used meats in the world. Did you know that there are more chickens in the world than any other bird?

This recipe uses herbs as the main ingredient giving it a lot of flavor, and it's both juicy and crispy. Mine is always served with fresh baked dinner rolls and available vegetables. The measurements depend on how big the bird is, you'll need enough to coat the entire bird well on both sides. I am using a 1.5 kilo or 3.3 lb chicken.

This is one of the easiest dinners to make and doesn't require to much attention, perfect if you have laundry or like me have ironing to do ( I hate ironing ). Roasted chicken goes well with green beans and mash potatoes (mine are the instant kind, I can't make them from scratch they always turn out bad. Why is it that I have no problem with other more complicated dishes but this I just can't. Anyone have a good recipe? ) Or serve with your favorite veggies. Don't forget the fresh baked rolls, they are yummy.