Simple Roasted Chicken

Last night I made the simplest roast chicken based on a recipe from Cook’s Illustrated’s The Best Recipe.

I preheated the oven to 375 degrees and  stuck an empty roasting pan in the oven. I melted 2 tablespoons of butter in the microwave. I brushed the chicken all over with the butter then sprinkled salt and pepper generously all over it. When the oven was preheated, I took out the roasting pan and set it on top of the stove.

Normally, this recipe calls for using a v-shaped roasting rack, but I used a flat roasting rack on top of the pan instead. I put the chicken breast side up and stuck it back in the over for 15 minutes. Then I realized that I should have put the chicken breast side down instead. So I switched and let it bake for another 15 minutes on 375 degrees.

When the time was up, I took the chicken out and raised the temperature to 450 degress. I also moved the oven rack to the lower middle level so it wasn’t so close to the burner element at the top of the oven. The skin on the chicken was already starting to blister on the chicken. I put the chicken back in the over, with the breast side down for another 20 minutes.

Finally, I flipped the chicken breast side up and roasted it for a final 20 minutes. The meat thermometer read 180 degrees. I let the chicken rest of 10 minutes while I prepared the sweet potato fries and set the table. The breast meat was a little dry but the dark meat turned out well, The skin was crispy and delicious.

Next time, I’ll pay more attention to which side of the chicken is up when I roast it. Otherwise, this was a great recipe.

Chicken Adobo

1 T. of canola oil
3 cloves of garlic – sliced thin
1 pkg of Chicken Thighs (Foster Farms 6-pk)
3/4 cup of white vinegar
1/4 cup of lite soy sauce
1 T. of pepper corns
2 bay leaves

Heat a large pan and add the oil. Saute the garlic till golden. Add chicken, skin side down. Fry until brown. Turn over to boneside. Cook 3 – 5 mins. Add soy sauce and vinegar. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Add peppercorns, bay leaves. Cover and cook for 30 minutes or until tender. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. After 30 minutes, place the chicken in a pan and keep the sauce. Put pan in the oven for 10 minutes until chicken is crisp. Take out pan and pour sauce onto chicken. Serve hot with white rice.