Mom's Famous Amazing Perfect Chicken

Hey, carnivores.

Go buy a chicken.

Yep, right now.  A whole one.

It's okay, I can wait.  I'll be here when you get back.  In fact, I'll go and backblog some Passover-era posts.  Oop, better check those out AFTER YOU BUY THAT CHICKEN.  (here they are.)

You back yet?  Good.  Now, we'll make Mom's Famous.  It's absolutely foolproof.  Moist meat, crispy skin, five ingredients, including the chicken - bung this in the oven and you are GOLDEN.  You'll be a superstar.  Promise.  The perfume of this bird will bring them running.

When I was a kid, I was prepping a chicken for this very recipe when I stopped eating chicken skin.  I was creeped out by seeing some feather stubs still poking out of the skin and couldn't go back for years.  The rest of my teenage years and up through somewhere in college, people thought I was cutting fat, when actually I couldn't bear the thought of the skin.  This recipe's good because the spices infuse the meat a bit and even without the skin, the moist meat is worth it.  Plus you can always make a gravy thanks to the plentiful pan juices this bird gives.  Still, I always knew I was missing out in my younger years.

Eventually I did cave in.  (Fried chicken.)  And last night, when we made this bird, I devoured every crispy, spiced inch that I could.

Mom's Famous Amazing Perfect Chicken

serves - depends on chicken size, innit?  generally 4.

prep time: 5 minutes
cook time: depends on chicken size too, innit?  Count on 45 minutes per KG.  We did 1 hour for a small bird - 1.2 kg (2.5 pounds).

ingredients:

1 whole chicken
the following are all to taste & vary by chicken size/amount of skin; measurements are suggestions only
2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tbsp garlic salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tbsp paprika

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F (190C).
2. Place chicken in a baking dish, roasting pan, or whatever you got.
3. Sprinkle the seasonings evenly on top of the chicken.
4. Carefully fill the bottom of the baking dish with 1/2 to 3/4 inch of water.
5. Insert meat thermometer if desired.  Cook chicken for a time appropriate to its size.  Check out this-a-link for some size/time charts.
6. Remove chicken, sniff, and sigh.  Devour.  SAVE THE BONES TO MAKE CHICKEN STOCK, to be blogged soon!

Yes, the stuffed pepper recipe is comin' up next!

We're gonna make chilaquiles with the leftover chicken, and after that, I will post up a recipe for chicken stock.  Maybe even make those Black Star Matzah Balls again.