Hold the phones (or drumsticks) ladies and gents, because I have ‘discovered’ an amazing new way to cook chicken. Despite my efforts at creating the crispiest and tastiest exterior, Dan invariably pulls the skin off of the chicken I make. I can deal with that (it’s his loss) but I knew that there must be a better way to get the flavor directly onto the meat without time-consuming and subtle brining.
Enter the skinless roast. Cooking chicken this way is fast and flavorful. You can even save the skin for making schmaltz later! The following recipe is enough for one cut-up whole chicken, so double it if you want enough for leftovers. This is easiest if you have kitchen shears.
Preheat the oven to 400.
1 cut-up whole chicken
4 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. Kosher salt
2 Tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne (to taste)
1/2 c. olive oil
Cut and pull the skin off of the chicken, reserving the skin and wings in the freezer for later use in schmaltz and chicken soup, respectively. On the drumsticks, snip the fibrous tendon. Cut the breasts in half crosswise so that they are the same size as the thighs.
Pat the chicken dry and place it in a roasting pan. Combine the rub ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Drizzle the olive oil over the chicken and toss it to coat, allowing the remaining oil to collect in the bottom of the roasting pan. One by one, take the chicken pieces out of the pan and place them in the rub bowl and press the rub on all surfaces; then return the chicken to the pan. Tilt the pan around to ensure that the entire bottom surface is coated in oil.
Place the pan in the oven and roast the chicken for 30 minutes, turning the chicken pieces once during cooking. If parts of the pan show scorching, tilt the pan so that they are coated in oil–as long as the meat doesn’t scorch it will be OK, if messy. Remove the breast pieces when they are cooked (~160 internal temp) and continue cooking the dark meat for 5 more minutes (to ~170 internal temp).
Tasty hot or cold, with practically any side. I made mine with coleslaw and baked beans. Sorry for no pictures this time–gluttony got the best of us!
hello there – I’m about to try this recipe – it does sound good