Yummy!

Thought I'd share my favorite chicken recipe!

I've tried this several times and it has never disappointed. I think I've talked about it before but buying whole fryers is the way to go if you are looking for an inexpensive chicken meal. I know a lot people don't like bone-in chicken so this isn't for you. I buy my fryers when they are $.59 cents/lb. I buy fryers that are around 4lbs for my family. Usually one chicken will feed us for 2 meals. We eat the chicken one night and then I use the leftovers in another chicken based recipe like homemade chicken noodle soup or chicken enchiladas. When I see fryers on sale I buy 3 or 4. They go on sale several times a year and I usually roast one per month so there's no reason to buy more than that and take up precious freezer space.

Now for the recipe:

This recipe has to be started the day before you want to eat it for dinner.

Roasted Sticky Chicken

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (I have substituted poultry seasoning)

3/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1 onion quartered

1 (4lb whole chicken)

In a small bowl, mix together salt, paprika, onion powder, pepper, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder.

Remove and discard giblets from chicken. Rinse chicken cavity, and pat dry with paper towel. Rub chicken inside and out with spice mixture. Place onion into the cavity of chicken. Place chicken in a resealable bag or double wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight or at least 4 to 6 hours.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Place chicken in a roasting pan. Bake uncovered for 5 hours (yes FIVE hours), to a minimum internal temperature of 18o degrees F. After the first hour, baste chicken occasionally (every half hour or so) with pan juices. The pan juices will start to caramelize on the bottom of pan and the chicken will turn golden brown. If the chicken contains a pop-up thermometer, ignore it. Let the chicken stand for 10 minutes before carving.

The slow roasting is what keeps in the great moisture and makes it "sticky" on the outside. Increasing the temp and decreasing the cooking time will not provide the same outcome; but it is still tasty. Once I also never basted it and just left for the afternoon with the chicken in the oven. Although the skin was not sticky, the meat was still delicious!

This cooks so low and so slow it's really hard to ruin. Try it and you will never roast a chicken any other way!