Country Roasted Chicken

Roasted chicken, seasoned like fried chicken! This is my solution to wanting the simplicity and leftovers of a roasted chicken wile being able to serve it with comfort food sides like greens and macaroni and cheese. The seasoning and crispy skin give it the personality of fried chicken. Roasting it saves us active prep time, lots of potential clean up, frying oil, and a few calories while giving us bonus leftovers.

Whole chickens are classically frugal!

This is a take on the classic roasted chicken, but this time with soul. We are a household of unapologetic mac and cheese lovers, so we never tire of main dishes that can be paired with it. We also love our greens (like this sauteed kale), so a more southern-style chicken was an obvious choice. I love fried chicken, but could do without the mess it usually comes with. Also, having a carb-ful side makes it less than ideal. But the main reason the roasted chicken appeals to me is its inherent frugality. I get bones to make stock and at least a few lunches out of a bird that cost me a couple of bucks. This one cost me $2.49 after coupon at Target. It is on the smaller side at 3.5 lbs, so 71 cents per pound. Everything else is good to have on hand in general and of negligible cost

And just as comforting as fried when seasoned as such

Preheat the oven to 450°. Quarter an onion and a lemon and peel. Mix a teaspoon and a half of poultry seasoning, two teaspoons kosher salt, ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, ½ teaspoon paprika, ¼ teaspoon each of onion powder and garlic powder, and 1/8 teaspoon each of cayenne and ginger. Add about two tablespoons of canola oil to the spice mixture. As I mentioned, this is a smaller chicken, so if you have one that is a lot larger, you may need to increase the oil to three tablespoons and increase the salt and spices a bit.

Rinse a whole chicken and pat it dry. Stuff the lemon and onions into the cavity of the chicken. If your chicken seems to need it, tie the legs together with kitchen twine.

Rub the spice mixture all over the skin of the chicken. Place the chicken in a roasting pan. You can use a small roaster with a rack, but I am just using a metal baking pan lined with nonstick foil to make the chicken release easily.

Roast the chicken in the preheated oven for an hour to an hour and a half, depending on the size of your chicken. This three and a half pounder was done at just about an hour…but I didn’t catch it, hence the spices ending up a little dark on the top.

Let it rest for about 10 minutes, then carve.

We usually eat the dark meat and wings right away to take advantage of the crispy skin and spices, then save the breast meat for chicken salad or to throw in a soup or pot pie and the bones for stock.