12 January 2009

I Finally Made a Great Roast Chicken!


I've had a terrible time with roast chickens for some reason. I don't have a V-rack, which is probably where the problem lay. I usually set off the fire alarm because every recipe I use doesn't call for much (if any) liquids. And even though I love roast chicken, Shane isn't a huge fan. I was going to let this be my last roast chicken. And so why not have some fun and experiment? I didn't measure anything, but here are the ingredients and approximations of how much I used.

Whole chicken, 4 lbs.
Bacon fat, 2 Tbsp. (keep the dripping next time you make bacon and keep it in the frig)
Brandy, 1/2 cup
Chicken broth, 1/2 cup
Hawaiian salt (or other coarse salt), lots, probably about 1 Tbsp

1. Loosen the skin on the breast and the butt/back. Cut a small slit (about 1/2 in.) at each end of the drumstick and loosen the skin by sticking your finger in the slits. Also, preheat the over to 425 degrees.

2. Microwave the bacon fat for 15 seconds to soften it, but it should still be pretty solid. Grab little globs of fat and dip in the salt, which should be in a small little dish. Stuff the globs under the skin on each side of the breast, each side of the butt/back and each drumstick. Press down on the skin to smooth out.

3. Pour the brandy and chicken broth over the chicken.

4. Sprinkle just enough table salt over the chicken to flavor the skin.

5. Cover with foil and stick in oven for 30 minutes. (you might be able to skip the foil, I put it on because I'm paranoid about all the liquid evaporating)

6. Take foil off and make sure there is enough liquid so that it won't all evaporate and bake for another 30 minutes.  At this point the chicken should be 165-170 degrees. 

7.  Let it sit on the counter for a while.  I didn't time it, but I think I waited about 20 minutes and it was perfect. 

The skin was so delicious.  I ate all of it except one little bite I gave to Shane.  The baby told me to.  And the bacon fat-brandy juices were great for dipping the meat in.  I had to ask Shane to stop dipping his green beans in the juice because I'd feel really bad if he had a heart attack.  

So, obviously, this is not a healthy chicken.  But it turned out great and now Shane loves roast chicken.  Well... if it's roasted in bacon fat anyway. 




3 comments:

Kainoa said...

OMG, this story is too funny. You must be learning from the pioneer woman about bacon fat. Your chicken looks really yummy Marie, maybe some day you can make it for us and we can come over to dinner then we can all have heart attacks together. You amake me laugh. Did Caleb eat the chicken too?

Unknown said...

I'd love to make the Heart Attack Chicken for you guys! :) Yes, Caleb actually ate it and four small pieces of broccoli. I nearly passed out in shock. I changed the amount of bacon fat to 2 Tbsp. because after thinking about it a little more, I don't think it was as much as 3. See, so it's really not that bad for you! :)

Tina said...

MMMMMMMMMM.... I have GOT to try that. LOVE roast chicken, though mine are always kind of bland.
Sounds yummy.