Perfect Chicken Recipes

PERFECT ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Place the onions, carrots, and fennel in a roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.
• Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes. Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables.

PERFECT CHICKEN

Steps:

• Pour the chicken broth into a saucepan with the onion and garlic; bring to a boil and cook at a boil until the liquid reduces by half, about 10 minutes. Pour in the white wine, return to a boil, and reduce the liquid by half again, about 10 minutes. Stir in mushrooms, rosemary, and sage; simmer until the mushrooms are tender and have given up their juice, about 15 more minutes. Stir in cream, butter, lemon, and capers; reduce heat and simmer the sauce until thickened, about 10 minutes (45 minutes in all).
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Place the cornstarch into a shallow bowl and press the chicken thighs into the cornstarch on all sides until thoroughly coated. Shake off excess cornstarch. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; pan-fry the chicken thighs until they develop a golden brown crust, about 8 minutes per side. Place the chicken thighs into a 9x9-inch baking dish and pour the sauce over the chicken.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the sauce is bubbling and the chicken is no longer pink in the center, about 15 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of a chicken thigh should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).

PERFECT ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Let chicken and 1 tablespoon butter stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Remove and discard the plastic pop-up timer from chicken if there is one. Remove the giblets and excess fat from the chicken cavity. Rinse chicken inside and out under cold running water. Dry chicken thoroughly with paper towels. Tuck the wing tips under the body. Sprinkle the cavity of the chicken liberally with salt and pepper, and set aside.
• In the center of a heavy-duty roasting pan, place onion slices in two rows, touching. Place the palm of your hand on top of lemon and, pressing down, roll lemon back and forth several times. This softens the lemon and allows the juice to flow more freely. Pierce entire surface of lemon with a fork. Using the side of a large knife, gently press on garlic cloves to open slightly. Insert garlic cloves, thyme sprigs, and lemon into cavity. Place chicken in pan, on onion slices. Cut about 18 inches of kitchen twine, bring chicken legs forward, cross them, and tie together.
• Spread the softened butter over entire surface of chicken, and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Place in the oven, and roast until skin is deep golden brown and crisp and the juices run clear when pierced, about 1 1/2 hours. When chicken seems done, insert an instant-read thermometer into the breast, then the thigh. The breast temperature should read 180 degrees and the thigh 190 degrees.
• Remove chicken from oven, and transfer to a cutting board with a well. Let chicken stand 10 to 15 minutes so the juices settle. Meanwhile, pour the pan drippings into a shallow bowl or fat separator, and leave onions in the pan. Leave any brown baked-on bits in the bottom of the roasting pan, and remove and discard any blackened bits. Using a large spoon or fat separator, skim off and discard as much fat as possible. Pour the remaining drippings and the juices that have collected under the resting chicken back into the roasting pan. Place on the stove over medium-high heat to cook, about 1 minute. Add chicken stock, raise heat to high, and, using a wooden spoon, stir up and combine the brown bits with the stock until the liquid is reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Strain the gravy into a small bowl, pressing on onions to extract any liquid. Discard onions, and stir in the remaining tablespoon of cold butter until melted and incorporated. Untie the legs, and remove and discard garlic, thyme, and lemon. Carve, and serve gravy on the side.

PERFECT ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Rinse and pat chicken thoroughly dry with paper towels. Mix margarine, garlic salt, black pepper, thyme, parsley, and rosemary in a bowl and rub the outside of the chicken thoroughly with the margarine mixture. Place any remaining margarine mixture into the cavity of the chicken. Place chicken into a glass baking dish.
• Bake chicken in the preheated oven until browned and the juices run clear, about 2 hours. An instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh, not touching bone, should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).

FINALLY, A PERFECT FRIED CHICKEN RECIPE

Steps:

• Place chicken thighs and drumsticks into a bowl and pour buttermilk over chicken. Stir to coat. Cover and marinate in refrigerator for 3 hours (or up to overnight).
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Place flour, onion powder, garlic powder, seasoned salt, chicken bouillon granules, sage, black pepper, thyme, and marjoram into a 1-gallon resealable plastic bag. Close bag and shake to combine flour and seasonings. Whisk eggs and milk in a large bowl.
• Pour vegetable oil into a cast-iron skillet or an oven-safe glass or metal pan. Heat skillet with oil in the hot oven for 10 minutes.
• While oil is heating, drain buttermilk from chicken pieces and place each chicken piece into plastic bag of seasoned flour. Seal bag and shake to coat chicken piece with seasoned flour. Dip each coated piece in egg mixture, then return the piece to the bag of flour mixture and shake to coat a second time. Place coated chicken pieces onto a plate to rest for 5 minutes to set coating.
• Place coated chicken into hot oil in the skillet and bake for 30 minutes. Turn chicken over and bake until no longer pink inside and the coating is golden brown, about 20 more minutes. Place chicken pieces on a rack to drain oil before serving.