Poultry Essentials Easy Peasy Baked Chicken Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Grease a baking dish.
• Mix cracker crumbs, seasoned salt, and garlic powder in a shallow bowl. Dip chicken breasts into melted margarine and press into cracker mixture until coated. Arrange chicken in prepared baking dish.
• Bake in preheated oven until chicken breasts are no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, 45 to 60 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (75 degrees C).

Steps:

• 1. PREP/PREPARE
• 2. Gather your Ingredients (mise en place).
• 3. Add enough cold water to a large bowl (like a mixing bowl), or a pot, to completely submerge the chicken, in my experience it will 3 - 4 quarts.
• 4. Add the salt and honey, then whisk the mixture until the salt has completely dissolved.
• 5. Chef's Note: Many times, depending on the ingredients in the brine, I'll heat it up on the stovetop, and wait an hour or two for it to cool down. In this case, the only solid is the salt, and with enough whisking, it will dissolve; even in cold water. That saves us a ton of time.
• 6. Submerge the chicken in the salt/honey solution, and brine for 2, but not more than 3 hours.
• 7. Chef's Note: During this process, you will want to place the brining chicken in the refrigerator.
• 8. Remove the chicken from the brine and thoroughly rinse, and then pat dry with a few paper towels.
• 9. Add the quartered lemons to the cavity of the chicken and truss up the legs, and tie the wings to the body.
• 10. Sprinkle the dry rub all over the chicken, and allow to rest while you get your oven, grill, or smoker ready.
• 11. Chef's Note: You could use a variety of dry rubs, or you could make one of your own. This is my recipe for an excellent dry spice rub: https://www.justapinch.com/recipes/sauce-spread/seasoning-mix/rub-essentials-beef-pork-chicken-dry-rub.html
• 12. BAKING THE CHICKEN
• 13. You have three choices for baking this chicken. Method One: Place a rack in the lower position, and preheat the oven 235 (112c). Method Two: Heat up the smoker to 225 (107c). Method Three: Fire up your gas or charcoal grill to 225f (107).
• 14. Oven baking will give you a great chicken, but without some of the additional flavor notes that can be accomplished on a grill, or in the smoker. For example, I use my smoker and 30-minutes into the cooking, I'll add a handful of hickory chips. That's just enough to give the chicken a "hint" of smoke without overpowering the bird.
• 15. COOKING TIME: The chicken is done when the temp of the chicken breast reaches 165f (75c), or 175f (80c), at the thickest part of the thigh. Regardless of the method you are using, that should occur in 3 to 3.5 hours. Your time may vary, based on the size of the chicken, and the actual temperature of the gill, oven, or smoker.
• 16. Remove the chicken from the oven, grill, or smoker.
• 17. PLATE/PRESENT
• 18. Brush with the olive oil, and allow to rest for 10 minutes before carving and serving. Enjoy.
• 19. Keep the faith, and keep cooking.

Steps:

• 1. PREP/PREPARE
• 2. Two of my favorite brands of tomatoes are Meir Glen, or Cento; however, another great (more common) brand is Hunts. My favorite brand of marinated artichoke hearts is Mezzetta, and they come packed in oil. Drain the oil before chopping. My favorite brand of diced green chilies, are Hatch. They come in small cans of 5 ounces (142g).
• 3. Gather your Ingredients (mise en place).
• 4. Chef's Tip: I recommend brining the chicken breasts for an hour or two, but that is totally up to you.
• 5. Chef's Note: You will notice that in the photos, I am placing the chicken breasts into individual serving dishes. If you wish, you can place both breasts into a single baking dish, or you could cook the whole thing in an ovenproof skillet. Now that is what I call easy/peasy.
• 6. Place a rack in the middle position, and preheat the oven to 400f (205c).
• 7. Add the butter and oil to a skillet over medium heat.
• 8. When the foaming subsides, add the onions.
• 9. Cook until the onions soften, and turn translucent, about 4 - 5 minutes.
• 10. Add the garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 60 seconds.
• 11. Reduce the heat to medium low, then add the tomatoes, artichokes, chilies, oregano, basil, parsley, and cumin, and stir to combine with the onions and garlic.
• 12. Allow to simmer until it reduces a bit, and beings to thicken, about 8 - 10 minutes.
• 13. Chef's Note: Add a bit of salt and pepper, to taste.
• 14. Place the tomato sauce into individual, oven-proof baking dishes, or a single dish. Sprinkle the chicken breasts with salt and pepper, and push them into the tomato sauce.
• 15. Place into the preheated oven, and bake until the internal temperature of the chicken breasts reaches 165f (75c), about 30 - 35 minutes
• 16. Add the Dubliner cheese to the top, and pop under the broiler until the cheese is bubbly, and beginning to brown in spots, about 2 - 3 minutes.
• 17. PLATE/PRESENT
• 18. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese, and serve while nice and warm. With maybe a small side salad, and some crusty bread. Enjoy.
• 19. Keep the faith, and keep cooking.

Steps:

• PREP/PREPARE
• Gather your ingredients (mise en place).
• Place a rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 425f (220c).
• Brush the chicken breast with the oil.
• Sprinkle on the spices.
• Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and add any veggies, if using.
• Brush the veggies, if using, with a bit of olive oil, and place into the preheated oven.
• Bake until the skin is golden brown, and the internal temperature of the breast reaches 165, about 40 - 45 minutes.
• PLATE/PRESENT
• Serve while nice and warm with your chosen sides. Enjoy.
• Keep the faith, and keep cooking.

Steps:

• Preheat convection oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Rub chicken breasts with olive oil and sprinkle both sides with salt and Creole seasoning. Place chicken in a broiler pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Flip chicken and cook until no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, about 15 minutes more. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).
• Remove chicken from pan. Pour water into the pan, while scraping the browned bits of food off of the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Add more water if needed to dislodge the browned bits; serve alongside chicken.

Steps:

• PREP/PREPARE
• You will need a full or half, rimmed sheet pan to make this recipe, and some parchment paper will help with cleanup.
• The spices used in this recipe keep things simple, yet flavorful. Feel free to add, any additional spices that suit your fancy.
• If you wish, you can make more of the marinade and reserve some for after the chicken comes out of the oven, then drizzle it over the chicken and veggies before serving. Yummy.
• Chicken Thighs worked best, and so would legs; however, if you choose breasts, be careful and do not overcook them or they will be dry.
• Gather your ingredients (mise en place).
• Whisk the marinade ingredients together in a bowl.
• Add the chicken thighs, toss with the marinade, then cover and place in the fridge for 2 - 3 hours.
• I am using a Ziploc bag for the marinading, however, keeping them in the bowl and covering with a piece of clingwrap would do just fine.
• Place a rack in the upper position and preheat the oven to 380f/195c.
• Remove the chicken from the marinade and sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper.
• Add the chicken to the parchment-lined sheet pan, then toss the veggies in a bit of oil, salt, and pepper, and add to the pan.
• Place in the preheated oven and bake until the chicken starts turning golden and the veggies are cooked, about 30 - 40 minutes.
• To get the chicken skin even crisper, turn on the broiler function 1 - 2 minutes before the chicken is finished. But keep an eye on it because the broiler can turn golden brown to blackened quicker than you can say: Oops.
• PLATE/PRESENT
• Place a piece of the chicken on a plate; along with a portion of the veggies, then serve while nice and hot. Enjoy.
• Keep the faith, and keep cooking.