Baked Chicken Experiment

Sounds like it might be pretty good! Love to hear how it turns out.
I love to go without a net (recipe) from time to time. These
experiments have gotten better results over the years, as I've gotten
more experienced. They're usually pretty good now.
Might be an interesting thread. Experiments we've done, cooking without
a recipe. Both the great ones and the disasters!
My biggest disaster was the spagetti sauce with anchovies! Only ate it
once, the night I made it. The next day, I couldn't even think about
eating the leftovers, they went in the garbage.
I've made some great salads by scrounging around the refrig and pulling
stuff out that looked good, but that's not really cooking.
I've made some great wok dinners with what was in the refrig, and some
not-so-hot ones too.
I guess my best made-up was chicken I made a couple of months ago -
tasted wonderful, but can't remember what I put in it.
Love to experiment, but not when someone's coming over!

Gal Called J.J. said:

My local Fred Meyer (I live in Western Washington State) has
frying chickens for a mere 59 cents per pound today, so I bought
three. Two will be cut up and fried, but I tried something new with
the last one. I put it in a covered roasting pan, and stuffed it with

Quoted message said:

a chunk of onion and half of a lemon. Then I mixed 2 T. butter with
garlic, sage, rosemary, thyme, salt, black pepper, and white pepper,
then rubbed that under and over the skin, and sprinkled a little
more lemon juice over it. I'm going to bake it for an hour or so
at 350 F. We'll see how it turns out -- I don't usually cook without
a recipe...

Last Saturday, we had another unseasonably warm day (Dog3 knows what I
mean) so I did the Chicken Diavola recipe from America's Test Kitchen
out on the Weber kettle.

Here's what I posted on alt.food.barbecue about it:

Another warm Saturday in St. Louis meant more outdoor cooking. I made
the Chicken Diavola recipe from America's Test Kitchen. Basically a
brined butterflied fryer, with a spicy mixture spread under the skin.

The spice paste was four medium cloves of garlic (minced), two
teaspoons ground black pepper, two teaspoons of red pepper flakes, and
1/4 cup of olive oil. This is heated to the sizzling point then cooled.
You then work your fingers under the skin of the breast and legs and
smear this around underneath.

It's cooked in a kettle grill, with a chimney of charcoal divided off
to either side for indirect cooking, all vents open to run pretty hot.

It worked pretty well, the only problem I had was the time. They said
30-35 minutes, it was much closer to an hour before I had safe temps in
the thighs. I use the Weber charcoal holders, perhaps it isn't as hot
as two piles on either side, or maybe their chimney was larger so more
charcoal. Hard to say.

It was good. A bit of smoke flavor and the spices worked well. I think
next time I may finish it directly over the coals to crisp the skin a
bit more.

Brian

One time on Usenet, [email hidden] (Gal Called J.J.)

Quoted message said:

My local Fred Meyer (I live in Western Washington State) has
frying chickens for a mere 59 cents per pound today, so I bought
three. Two will be cut up and fried, but I tried something new with
the last one. I put it in a covered roasting pan, and stuffed it with
a chunk of onion and half of a lemon. Then I mixed 2 T. butter with
garlic, sage, rosemary, thyme, salt, black pepper, and white pepper,
then rubbed that under and over the skin, and sprinkled a little
more lemon juice over it. I'm going to bake it for an hour or so
at 350 F. We'll see how it turns out -- I don't usually cook without
a recipe...

Wow, it was wonderful!! DS (who is 7) even wrote me a note with
his new "secret pen" thanking me for the "mouthwatering" dinner.
He's so darn cute! I served the chicken with roasted asparagus,
something I've never made before -- good stuff:

Roasted Asparagus w/Shallots - Serves 3

2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
1 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 pound asparagus spears, trimmed
1/8 tsp salt
A few pinches freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp finely grated orange peel

Preheat oven to 450 F (425 F for dark pans). In a skillet, heat 1
T. olive oil over medium-high heat and saute shallots for 5 minutes.
Set aside.

In a shallow roasting pan or baking pan, toss asparagus spears with
remaining olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake until asparagus is tender,
about 8-10 minutes, stirring once. Remove from heat. Add orange peel
to roasting pan, mixing well. To serve, place asparagus on plates and
sprinkle with shallots.

--
J.J. in WA ~ mom, vid gamer, novice cook ~
"You still haven't explained why the pool is
filled with elf blood." - Frylock, ATHF

One time on Usenet, [email hidden] (Gal Called J.J.) said:

<snip re: baked chicken>

Quoted message said:

Very easy, I'll
be making this one again, although I'm going to try other seasonings
in the future for some variety...

I forgot to say, thanks to RFC for all the information and support
that gets posted here -- I wouldn't have been brave enough to just
go for a new method without you guys... :-)

--
J.J. in WA ~ mom, vid gamer, novice cook ~
"You still haven't explained why the pool is
filled with elf blood." - Frylock, ATHF