Roast chicken for Dummies

[Katherine Derbyshire]

I made this for dinner the other night, and decided it was too simple and delicious not to share. It's Paleo, for those who care.

Start with skin-on chicken pieces, either breasts or legs, or both. Rinse with cold water and pat dry.

Rub with spices of your choice and a little oil. I used cumin, chili powder, ground coriander, ground cinnamon, black pepper, and salt, but pretty much any commercial spice rub would work, too.

Pre-heat oven to 450F.

Heat a couple tablespoons of oil in an oven-proof skillet large enough to hold all the chicken in one layer. When oil is hot, but not smoking, brown the chicken for 6-8 minutes, turning once.

Turn the chicken skin side up and put skillet in oven. Roast until cooked through, 16-18 minutes for breasts, 20-25 minutes for legs.

Remove chicken to a platter. Deglaze the pan with a half-cup of water. Transfer this pan sauce to a bowl, skim off excess fat, and serve.

Original recipe from Ruth Reichl at Gourmet Magazine:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...threcipe2.html (WFS)

Enjoy!

Katherine

[Kelly Alford]

This is almost exactly what I do every. single. Sunday. (at least at this time of year, when grilling is not a real great option!)

It has become habit, it just turns out so good!!!!

FWIW, I use a cooler oven and cook for about 45 min. I also season liberally with Penzey's Northwoods Seasoning or Florida Seasoning Pepper.

Cook extra and you have instant lunch for the next day, too.

[Katherine Derbyshire]

How does the skin turn out with the cooler oven? I find the higher temperature makes it nice and crisp, and renders out almost all of the fat.

Katherine

[Joey Shishineh]

Chili Lime Chicken by Nick Massie. (WFS) CrossFit Journal video. I've made this once and it is delicious. I may have to try your recipe next though.

[Kelly Alford]

I tried it at the higher temp/faster cook time tonight, just to see the difference. . The higher temp does give a nicer, crispier skin, but the meat itself (I use leg quarters) was a bit drier. It was still really, really good- but I think I prefer the longer cook for the juiciereat factor. It's a tough call since the skin *was* really good and crispy, though! Maybe next week I will try low n slow with a quick hit of the broiler at the end to crisp the skin.

(btw my phone just auto corrected "broiler" to toilet". True story. That changes the whole cooking method a bit, hm? Lol)

[Katherine Derbyshire]

More research needed!

Katherine

[Mara Rozitis]

I tried this today with boneless pork rib chops because that was what I had in the fridge and this looked good. Had no idea how it would turn out but figured it was worth a try. I am getting tired of my tried and true recipes day in/day out. The chops are superb done this way. I wouldn't want to try it with a leaner cut, but these are incredibly tender and juicy. They were only about 3/4" thick, so I cut the oven time to about 9-10 minutes at 450 after browning. I seasoned some with a Greek seasoning and some with garlic, cumin, salt and a little cayenne pepper. Yum! Thanks, Katherine. Your posts are always well-thought-out, informative and useful.

[Katherine Derbyshire]

Originally Posted by Mara Rozitis

I tried this today with boneless pork rib chops because that was what I had in the fridge and this looked good. Had no idea how it would turn out but figured it was worth a try. I am getting tired of my tried and true recipes day in/day out. The chops are superb done this way. I wouldn't want to try it with a leaner cut, but these are incredibly tender and juicy. They were only about 3/4" thick, so I cut the oven time to about 9-10 minutes at 450 after browning. I seasoned some with a Greek seasoning and some with garlic, cumin, salt and a little cayenne pepper. Yum! Thanks, Katherine. Your posts are always well-thought-out, informative and useful.

Hadn't thought of trying it with pork, but sure, why not? As you point out, very lean cuts wouldn't do well with this treatment, but pretty much any fatty cut would.

Katherine

[Kim Allen]

I roast chicken every week but never thought of searing it so this sound delicious. I always use the caress for soup and I find chicken broth comes out 100% better when you are using roasted chicken and a lot of the drippings from that pan.

[Kelly Alford]

We are skipping our rast chicken this week for the first time in...forever (in favor of crockpotted barbacoa beef!! yum!) BUT we did it last week- I did low and slow as I usually do, and then hit it with the broiler for a couple minutes at the very end. The skin was not AS crispy and awesome as the hotter/faster BUT it was crispier and the chicken was still melty-moist.

Next experiment is maybe a different cooking vessel and go with the high temp!