Perfectly Roasted Chicken

 Roasted chicken is a classic meal in my home. A whole chicken, roasted until the skin is crispy and you barely need to put a knife to it to get the thighs and breast to separate is a thing of beauty. For a small family like mine the left overs are a bonus. The next day there is almost always chicken salad at my home. You can season chicken in many ways making your own spice rub or using a store bought one. I use a variety of seasonings depending on my mood. This week I used a Penzy's spice called Galena Street but really what I want to share today is how to roast a chicken so is is moist and succulent with a delightfully crispy skin.

Roasted Chicken
What You need:
1 whole chicken, gizzards removed
strong kitchen shears
a large baking pan  that has a lip- I used a cookie sheet
dry seasoning of your choice

Using your kitchen shears cut the back bone from the chicken first cutting along one side and then the other. To clarify this is opposite of where the chicken breast are so your two chicken breasts will still be connected to each other.  Season your chicken with the seasoning you selected both inside and out and Lay the chicken flat on the baking pan so that the skin is up. Preheat your oven to 325 and bake 2-2.5 hours uncovered until the skin has crisped and juices run clear. When the chicken is done you can easily cut it into pieces. I usually remove the wings and the thighs. I will then separate the drumsticks from the thighs. If I plan to serve the breast I will separate them and then cut each breast in half, if I am saving them for leftovers then I usually just pack them up with out cutting them at all.

* I season my chicken then preheat the oven because I find  the seasoning has a chance to mix with the moisture of the chicken and rehydrate a bit while it is waiting. I think this improves the impact of the seasoning.

** If you have never roasted a chicken and want some further ideas about seasoning you can sprinkle you can sprinkle your chicken with a little salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Some other tasty options are to sprinkle it with lemon pepper seasoning mix or dry ranch dressing mix. I like to sprinkle a bit of paparika on my chicken if there is none in my seasoning mix because it really adds to the chicken coming out of the oven looking beautiful. If you are interested in the Galena Street spice I used, it can be ordered from the Penzy's web site which you can find here: www.penzeys.com

*** Use kitchen shears that can be taken apart for cleaning. with raw chicken this is not just convenient it is important for food safety. Mine are pictured above.