No, really! What follows may seriously be the easiest, tastiest way EVER to prepare chicken. All you need is one spice, some chicken, and some time.
Wait…let’s rewind a litte bit…
The day started as all of my days do; I woke up way too early in the morning to work on my side hustles. I put my work away a few hours later when the baby woke up, fumbled my way through getting her a new diaper (I wasn’t really awake yet) and we went downstairs. One-by-one the older children woke up and came downstairs. Before I knew it, it was 11:00 AM and they were asking for lunch and a trip to the zoo. Well, why not? So, I made them lunch and we headed off to the zoo.
We were somewhere between the lions and tigers when it hit me. I FORGOT TO MARINATE THE CHICKEN!
Dangit! I pulled out a family package of chicken quarters two days earlier to thaw. My intention was to marinate it when I woke up, let it sit all day, and then bake it for dinner. Well, there went that plan!
We got home around 4:30 and it hit me…I have enough time to slow roast the chicken, and I don’t need a marinade! Boom, baby!
I pulled out my trusty bottle of Emeril’s Blackened Seasoning (seriously, it’s the best multipurpose seasoning out there and isn’t overwhelmingly salty), my much loved broiler pan (it doubles as a roasting pan) and went to work. The chicken was absolutely amazing! The skin was perfectly crispy and the meat was juicy and delicious. SOOOOO good. You’ll want to make a few extra so you can save the meat for enchiladas or chicken salad or whatever.
There are only three ingredients in this recipe: chicken, seasoning, and LOVE
The recipe is below, but it’s really not much of a recipe. I absolutely love chicken quarters, they give me the most bang for my buck and aren’t as much work as a whole chicken, BUT you can use bone-in, skin-on thighs or a whole chicken if you want. Just don’t use skinless or boneless chicken because it’ll get too dried out. You can pull the skin off after you cook it if you want, but please do yourself a HUGE FAVOR and leave it on during cooking. (and then eat it, I won’t tell anyone!)
The Easiest, Tastiest Roasted Chicken Ever
1 package chicken quarters
1 bottle of blackened seasoning blend (I love Emeril’s but Magic* and Zatarain’s also make good ones)
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. (if you have 4 hours set it to 250!)
2) Rinse the chicken pieces under cold water and pat dry. Rub a generous amount of the blackened seasoning on both sides of the chicken.
3) Place the chicken on the broiling pan/roasting pan** and cook for 2 to 2 1/2 hours (4-5 hours if you went with the lower temperature).
4) When the juices run clear and the chicken reaches 165 degrees it’s good. Let it rest for 10 minutes before serving. The resting time will allow the juices to settle so you don’t end up with dry chicken.
To print this recipe click the green PRINT FRIENDLY button at the top of the post and follow the directions.
*Incidentally, when I worked in food service we used Magic as the “secret ingredient” in our roast chickens. We sold hundreds of chickens every day so I guess it’s good too!
**If you don’t have a broiling pan or roasting pan that’s OK. Make a bunch of 2″ balls out of foil and place them inside of a baking dish. Place the chicken on top of the balls. You don’t want the chicken cooking in its juices or it will stew and you don’t want stewed chicken. I mean, you might, but then it won’t be crispy and deliciously roasted, it’ll be stewed.
