I know a lot of people eat the traditional ham on Easter. I decided to do something different this year and make a whole roasted chicken. I didn't feel like trecking out to the store when I have so much food in my freezer that needs to be used up. As I've said before...I HATE wasting food. We're real good at doing that around here. I'm trying to be better about that. I hunted down a great recipe on http://www.cooks.com/ that sounded really good. I'm up for trying different recipes. As long as they're not TOO crazy and outta control...lol. I know there's probably a million ways to cook/make a chicken. This was a simple recipe that sounded delicious and didn't take a lot of time. That's always a plus with me. Time is something that I NEVER have enough of. I'm sure many of you feel that way. I also like to find recipes that I have all the things it calls for on hand. I hate to make special trips to the store for just a few things. Again, gotta use my time wisely.
The line up for this recipe is:
*1 - 4-5 lbs chicken (mine wasn't quite this big only 3.196 lbs)
*garlic AND onion powder
*paprika
*salt AND pepper
*1/2 stick of butter, melted
**One thing I liked about this recipe was that it didn't give me any measurements to work with. I could use as much or little as I wanted. I believe I used 1/2 tsp on garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and salt. Pepper I used 1/4 tsp. You can adjust this to your liking. Be a rebel if you want...go on! I'm into experimenting lately. Um...don't ask. I won't go there. :P
* To start, make sure you wash your bird well, inside and out. Pat dry with a paper towel or clean cloth. This step is VERY IMPORTANT!! This will help to insure a nice crust on your chicken once it's finished.
* melt butter.
Brush chicken with melted butter
In a small bowl, combine together onion powder
Pepper
Garlic powder
Paprika
And Salt
Sprinkle spice mixture on chicken inside and out. Then rub spices into chicken. Go ahead, give it a good rub. The next few pictures, I had to ask Jack to take for me. I can't rub my chicken and take it's picture too. Ooohh...that sounds dirty doesn't it?
Jack said he wanted to get a picture of me with my hand stuck up the rear of a chicken. Isn't he nice?
Next, preheat your oven to 325 degrees (this is what this recipe said to do. I myself would've raised the temperature to 425 or 450 degrees)
For added flavor, you can fill the cavity of the chicken with lemon, apple, garlic, onion, carrots, etc. I had onion on hand that I used this time.
Then put the onion right on inside the chicken...
Give it another good basting with melted butter before putting it in the oven
Roast,uncovered, breast side up. Keep turning and basting occasionally, until chicken is browned evenly on all sides. Baste often for a moister bird. You'll need to allow 30 minutes per pound of chicken or cook until breast meat reads 160 F on an instant read thermometer. I set my timer every 20 minutes to baste my chicken and sprinkle more seasoning on. I also turned the chicken each time I did this. I cooked my chicken for around 2 hours total.
Did I tell you that golden brown is my favorite color?
This chicken was so moist and tender. A knife wasn't required. We also had stuffing and green beans to accompany our chicken. We had a great Easter dinner! The kids LOVED it too!
I hope your Easter dinner was tasty too!
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