Roasting a Whole Chicken for the Pure Joy of the Dark Meat
One of my all time favorite meals to cook for my family is a whole roasted chicken. Why you might ask?
A. It’s affordable
B. There’s enough meat leftover to cover the next night’s dinner (see A. above)
C. I’m pretty much assured that all three of my kids will gobble it down, no questions asked
D. Because I cooked it, it’s almost guaranteed I can snag a leg when no one’s watching (oh how I love biting into that juicy, savory dark meat!)
Growing up in a household full of meat loving carnivores, I hardly ever had the opportunity to snatch up some of the precious dark sustenance. The aunts and uncles and grandparents and parents would all claim their stake first, stating matter of factly that their palates were “more refined and able to appreciate the complex flavor” of the dark, moist meat better than our own. One uncle would even go so far as to hide a turkey leg on Thanksgiving before the finished bird even made it out to the table, assuring himself a satisfying late night snack after the first round of the holiday dinner haze wore off.
As a child I always thought this dark meat hierarchy to be unfair, but now that I’m an adult myself I know better. I’m afraid of the day that there are three teenage boys living in this house. Once they discover the juicy, tender, delicious dark meat secret I’ve been keeping from them, I’ll have to buy two chickens just to satisfy everyone because I’ll tell ya right now that this here mama ain’t sharing her chicken leg with no one.
Ingredients Needed:
1 Whole Chicken
1/4 Cup of Soy Sauce
1/8 Cup of Teriyaki
1 Tbsp of Worcestershire
1 tsp of Sugar
3 Cloves of Garlic
1 Lime, Juiced
11/2 Inch Piece of Ginger, Chopped
3 Tbsp of Butter
Cut the butter into six pieces and place it under the skin of the chicken. Mmmmm, butter.
Now, in a baking dish mix up the soy, teriyaki, worcestershire, sugar, garlic, lime and ginger.
Stuff the lime halves into the cavity of the bird and cover it with the delicious soy mixture.
Cover the bird and place it into an oven preheated to 350 degrees for 1 hour.
After the hour is up, remove the cover, baste the bird and then turn the temperature up to 375 degrees. Cook it for an additional 45 minutes or until the internal temperature reads 165 degrees.
If the top is getting too dark , you can place a piece of aluminum foil lightly over the top (don’t seal it, just lay it over the top).
Check this out. Do you see why I love whole chickens? How tempting is that?
Those legs they are a callin’ to me. If you’re nice I just might share a wing with you. I did say might.
I am linking up this week to the Hearth and Soul Blog hop over at Alex’s.
Ginger Soy Chicken
Ingredients:
1 Whole Chicken
1/4 Cup of Soy Sauce
1/8 Cup of Teriyaki
1 Tbsp of Worcestershire
1 tsp of Sugar
3 Cloves of Garlic
1 Lime, Juiced
11/2 Inch Piece of Ginger, Chopped
3 Tbsp of ButterDirections:
Cut the butter into six pieces and place it under the skin of the chicken.
In a baking dish mix up the soy, teriyaki, worcestershire, sugar, garlic, lime and ginger.
Stuff the lime halves into the cavity of the bird and cover it with the delicious soy mixture.
Cover the bird and place it into an oven preheated to 350 degrees for 1 hour.
After the hour is up, remove the cover, baste the bird and then turn the temperature up to 375 degrees. Cook it for an additional 45 minutes or until the internal temperature reads 165 degrees.
If the top is getting to dark , you can place a piece of aluminum foil lightly over the top (don't seal it, just lay it over the top).
Kulsum at JourneyKitchen — January 17, 2011 @ 8:02 am
Nothing like roast chicken is there? I’m so hungry now after a good lunch! Only roast chicken can do tht. And all those Asian flavors? mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!
anne — January 17, 2011 @ 9:02 am
wow! I have never tried someting like Itsounds great though, happy week! anne
~Debra — January 17, 2011 @ 9:17 am
That is looks so tasty! Unfortunately it is after 11pm here in Japan. Now would be a little too late to make one. Maybe one day this week, though?!
Lindsay @ Pinch of Yum — January 17, 2011 @ 10:05 am
Your pictures are sooo lovely. Honestly. I just want to reach into the screen and get me a little bite of chicken! Nevermind the fact it’s 9:00 in the morning…
Apicius' Apprentice — January 17, 2011 @ 10:45 am
I have yet to make a roasted chicken, mostly because I worry I’m going to screw it up! This seems fairly doable though and oh do I love dark meat… I’ll have to bookmark this! Thank you
Faith — January 17, 2011 @ 11:06 am
You know, I’ve been in the mood for roast chicken for a while now and I am absolutly going to make it very soon. I love your recipe. Very simple and the result is aswesome! It looks very delicious and I know it’s moist from the insdie
Have a great week ahead.
Laura in Cancun — January 17, 2011 @ 12:26 pm
“Dark meat heirarchy” hahahha
Legs have always been my fave!
Katerina — January 17, 2011 @ 1:15 pm
This roast chicken just spoke to my heart. How much I wish I had a bite. It looks delicious!
Ma What's For Dinner — January 17, 2011 @ 2:37 pm
Nothing better than a roasted chicken. Love it. And Go Pack…I can’t believe my Pats let me down and lost to those Jets Jerks!
Medeja — January 17, 2011 @ 6:11 pm
Well.. I have no possibility to roast whole chicken, but I think this marinade would work for grilling too
Anna Johnston — January 17, 2011 @ 7:20 pm
I’m with you on this one. A weekly cook up in my home is a beautiful big organic marinated chicken, eat hot, leftovers cold – just the thing that spells out comfort food for me.
Lin — January 17, 2011 @ 8:00 pm
I bought my first whole chicken to roast and was looking for recipes. This one looks like it would be delicious.
Damaris — January 18, 2011 @ 2:06 am
I love making whole chickens too. They are cheap (hell-o Costco with your two chickens for $10) and there is always left overs.
OK Chick — January 18, 2011 @ 10:39 am
This is a perfect recipe for me. I can roast a chicken on Saturday or Sunday and have the meat all week. Thanks!
Also, I went to Trader Joes for the first time this weekend. I felt that I needed to call you when I walked in the store. HA!
Emily Z — January 18, 2011 @ 12:34 pm
You are a woman after my own heart. I love dark meat. My husband hates it. So, on occasion we’ve gotten a rotisserie chicken from the store (pre-cooked) so we can split it by the dark meat vs. the white meat. It works out quite well for us!
This chicken looks freaking delicious. Maybe next time I should go ahead and make my own instead of buy one already done at the store!
Maranda — January 18, 2011 @ 2:16 pm
Mmmmmm…the dark meat is my favorite! I especially love the thighs. Luckily, The Hubble loves the white meat. (This applies to us in our love of poultry and our love of the opposite sex. LOL!)
Your chicken looks so good my mouth is watering right now. Yum!
Tanvi@SinfullySpicy — January 18, 2011 @ 2:59 pm
I love dark meats.Almost every week,I cook chicken rubbed with al kinds of spices and charred in oven.Your asian version looks mouthwatering.
5 Star Foodie — January 18, 2011 @ 3:01 pm
A terrific looking roast chicken! I love your mixture with soy, lime and ginger, wonderful flavors!
Miel Abeille — January 18, 2011 @ 7:34 pm
My dad has been asking that we become more adventurous with our culinary repertoire. Which is a huge surprise because he isn’t a man who likes change! I’ve been wanting to roast a chicken, but felt a little uneasy about it. My mom, nor grandmothers, had ever taught me how it’s done. Your recipe looks delicious and simple to follow. I think it’ll be Thursday night’s dinner!
Jason@JLHealth — January 18, 2011 @ 9:52 pm
Both of my boys are just like you…There is no chicken or turkey leg that is safe in their presence!
Your recipe looks great and thanks for sharing with the Hearth and Soul hop this week.
Biren @ Roti n Rice — January 19, 2011 @ 12:09 am
My boys love the dark meat. Fortunately the adults are quite content with the white meat. Your marinade is very flalorful!
Monet — January 19, 2011 @ 12:28 am
My family fights over dark meat too! Even though my dad is normally a health nut…he always chooses a piece of dark meat over a lean chicken breast. But I would be happy to eat ANY part of this bird. It looks so moist! Thank you for sharing your tasty chicken treat with me. I hope you had a great day…may tomorrow be even better!
grace — January 19, 2011 @ 5:28 pm
i have to confess, i get a little squeamish when it comes to gnawing meat off of bones. that said, i’d be hard-pressed to resist a whole chicken prepared like this. nice work!
Melynda@Moms Sunday Cafe — January 20, 2011 @ 7:46 am
Stopping by from Hearth n Soul, your chicken looks better than any seen before! thanks for sharing. I need to roast more chicken apparently!
Nuts about Food — January 25, 2011 @ 9:07 am
So far, the dark meat/light meat issue is not an issue yet. Kids are happy with white meat, hubby prefers the breast (???) and I like the legs and wings. The real problem is we never have left overs…we easily got through a chicken. So much that we enjoy the bones too (not to mention crunchy skin). So making stock or things with leftovers is always a problem…
Laura — January 30, 2011 @ 6:59 pm
Oh my goodness, I just had to post as soon as I finished enjoying a dinner of this chicken. It’s only the second chicken I’ve ever roasted, but it was awesome. I will never try another recipe for roast chicken again. Thank you so much!!
Rita — January 31, 2011 @ 4:31 pm
What another lovely post! another must try recipe from Julie. Thank you!
sarah — February 2, 2011 @ 3:07 pm
Happy SITS day! And yay for dark meat!
Everything on your site looks super yum!
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Angie-Bigbearswife — March 25, 2011 @ 11:46 am
Thank you so much for this recipe
I just bought a few whole chickens that were on sale and I was wondering what I was going to do with them 