Many years ago when my mother was visiting our family in Ohio I cooked this chicken one night. My mother generally likes her food sort of simple. She wanted the meat identifiable. The sauces simple.
The food not touching . . .
Okay, maybe she cooked that way because of me.
I like a little flash, a little ethnicity, a little booze. She had married an Air Force man so she had lived "overseas" and generally everywhere in the U.S. so it wasn't the unfamiliarity of it. It was just what she liked.
I was tickled pink when she liked this recipe that I had actually developed myself!
It's her birthday this week. I just bet Jesus is having a beautiful German chocolate cake made for her!
Start with a chicken
This chicken is having a bath in a BRINE. For a whole chicken I use 1/2 a gallon of tap water and a 1/2 cup of table salt. You let it sit in there(refrigerated) for 3 1/2 to 5 hours. Brines are a beautiful thing. They soak into the chicken and make them reluctant to give up their moisture during cooking. What does this mean to you? I means that you can bake it or grill it as much as you like and you don't have to worry about dry white meat as much! I like my poultry cooked practically to death. A brine makes for juicy cooked to death chicken!
This chicken was a monstrous 6 lbs. What are they feeding them? Oops . . . I don't want to know. Please . . . really . . . no
After my "brining" time was done
I washed him off and dumped him in the sink to air dry a little. Heat your oven to 400 F. Meanwhile back at the cutting board . . .
I was preparing a pan. Now you know the issue with baking chicken is that the grease drips off of it and if you're using a nice high heat (great for chicken) it starts to smoke and burn. We're going to prevent that and make a side dish at the same time! So line a large cooking sheet or a large roasting pan with tin foil.
Peel some potatoes. One large potato per person will do. This isn't rocket science, you just need the potatoes to line the roasting pan.
Slice them up. I was feeling a time crunch so I used my processor. Slicing by hand is what I usually do. It just doesn't matter!
Season them with a little salt and pepper. Sometimes I add a teaspoon of oil. Toss them around and spread them out on the sheet.
Put about 1/4 cup of flour or cornstarch in a small mixing bowl. I used this huge bowl because I had used it to hold the potatoes. You can actually mix this up in a small bowl.
I like a couple of teaspoons of lemon pepper seasoning on my chicken so in it goes.
I like a teaspoon of dried thyme in here too. Feel free to add a little more salt or pepper based on your taste. My lemon pepper is more lemon than anything so I often find myself adding 1/2 tsp of salt or so.
Now add about 1/4 cup of vegetable oil.
Stir it up. It should turn into a smooth mixture.
Paint the mixture on its butt . . . er, back!
Then flip it over and put it over the taters and paint it's breasts. (Goodness, Internet filters are going to block me with all this talk of butts and breasts.)
You do not have to have a rack for this! The potatoes under the chicken will cook more slowly regardless. I was just trying to see if I could get them browned more evenly with a full on V-rack. (butts, breasts, racks, sigh.)
Now throw it in the oven for about 60-90 minutes. I like the legs to start moving really easily. A lot depends on the size of your chicken.
I'll admit it. I fuss with my chicken while it's baking. Every 15-20 minutes I jab at the potatoes to make sure the oil gets all over them. Tip the chicken to pour out any juices in it over the potatoes. I even flipped the back side up the last 20 minutes because it was too pale for me and the breast was getting a little toasty. You can even turn the heat down to 350 or so if the potatoes start to get too dark, too quick. They should start to get their major coloring the last 15-20 minutes.
After your chicken is done. Put the chicken on a platter, remove the rack and stir up the potatoes in the pan. Put them back in the oven while you let the chicken rest 10 minutes and while you carve it up.
See how crusty your chicken ends up? See how crispy those potatoes get? The chicken tastes like some cross between an herb roast chicken and a deep fried one.
You're going to want to put those potatoes on some paper towels. Depending on the chicken they can be swimming in delicious chicken fat goodness. You usually end up with a few that are actually burnt and a few that are pale but different strokes for different folks!
The potatoes like to stick to the foil but you can peel them off with forks and spatulas. You should have to fight for them because they are so, so, BAD for you. I used some nonstick foil this time and they slid around no problem. Mmmmm, good.
*** Wine selection? Something dry and light would be nice. I'd prefer a Pinot Grigio myself. Chardonnay would be fine if that's your thing! You could even go with a fruity chablis. If you like pink wine . . . I really like pink wine . . . then pick a nice white zinfandel. Beer? Of course you can have beer! Boulevard Pale Ale or Wheat would be delicious. A nice Shiner Bock would be tasty. Bud Light would be quite refreshing. Bon Appetit!
Crispy Roast Chicken w/ potatoes
3-5 lb chicken
6 russet potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 tsp vegetable oil
salt and pepper
For seasoning mix: Mix together in small bowl
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup oil
2 tsp lemon pepper seasoning
1 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste
For the brine: mix together until salt dissolves
1/2 gallon tap water
1/2 cup table salt
Place chicken in brine for 3 1/2 to 5 hours. It should stay refrigerated during this time.
Preheat oven to 400 F. Rinse and dry off chicken. Line roasting sheet with foil and add potatoes to pan. Sprinkle potatoes with oil, salt and pepper then toss. Spread potatoes even across pan. Paint seasoning mixture on chicken and place on rack over potatoes. Roast for 60-90 minutes, flipping chicken to brown both sides (if you like.) If you find your chicken turning roasty brown after 30 minutes turn the heat down to 350 F. When chicken is done remove from pan, stir potatoes and continue to roast them while chicken rests, 10-15 minutes.
OH MY! I just drooled on myself
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