Spice Rubbed Chicken
Today I’ve got another recipe that would be perfect for Memorial Day. I’ve made this chicken numerous times. I have no idea why it has taken me so long to getting around to posting it…
We’ve made it for friends, for family, and for other guests. It’s always been a huge hit. Huge. As in, everyone asks for the recipe.
This Spice Rubbed Chicken comes out perfectly moist and tender. No surprise there. The people over at America’s Test Kitchen really know what they’re doing. They test recipes over and over again until they’re foolproof.
I’ve let this chicken sit in the rub for anywhere from 2 hours to 2 days. Obviously, the longer it has to soak in all that deliciousness, the more amazing the outcome.
Since we don’t have a grill, I’ve always used the instructions outlined below. I’m sure this Spice Rubbed Chicken would be just as awesome cooked on a grill (if not better. Isn’t everything better when it’s been grilled?)
One Year Ago: Cucumber Hummus Bites and Chocolate Covered Strawberry Truffles
Two Years Ago: Homemade Ding Dongs
Spice Rubbed Chicken
This chicken is always a huge hit. It's very tender and has just the perfect amount of spice
Yield: Serves 8
Ingredients:
5 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces, trimmed of excess fat and skin
2 Tbsp kosher salt
3 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp chili powder
2 Tbsp smoked paprika
2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Directions:
Use a sharp knife to make 2 or 3 short slashes in the skin of each piece of chicken, taking care not to cut into meat.
Combine the salt, sugar, and spices in a small bowl and mix thoroughly. Coat the chicken pieces with the spices, gently lifting the skin to distribute the spice rub underneath but leaving it attached to chicken. Transfer the chicken skin side up to wire rack set over rimmed foil-lined baking sheet, lightly tent with foil, and refrigerate 6 to 24 hours.
Secure the skin of each breast piece with 2 or 3 toothpicks placed near the edges of the skin.
Adjust an oven rack to the middle position; heat the oven to 425 degrees.
Roast the chicken until the thickest part of smallest piece registers 140 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 15 to 20 minutes.
Increase the oven temperature to 500 degrees and continue roasting until the chicken is browned and crisp and the thickest parts of the breast pieces register 160 degrees, 5 to 8 minutes longer, removing pieces from the oven and transferring to a clean wire rack as they finish cooking. Continue to roast the thighs and/or drumsticks, if using, until the thickest part of the meat registers 170 to 175 degrees, about 5 minutes longer.
Remove from the oven; transfer the chicken to a rack and let it cool completely before refrigerating or serving.
Recipe from The Way the Cookie Crumbles, originally from Cooks Illustrated
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
love your adaptations- and i agree, one-pot meals usually need more veggies!
beantownbaker — March 25th, 2013 @ 3:44 pm
Not that this meal is in any way healthy, but at least bumping up the veggies (and the servings) reduces the amount of pure indulgence per serving…
Love all the changes you made to this! And I agree- the more veggies, the merrier 🙂
beantownbaker — March 25th, 2013 @ 3:45 pm
Glad I’m not the only one!
I love that idea to just throw extra veggies in. I always have some leftover unused veggies going bad in the fridge after I’ve used some for a recipe. The biscuits on this look amazing.
This looks rich and satisfying. I love the idea of biscuits on top rather than pie crust. Cream cheese chive biscuits sound especially delicious!
beantownbaker — March 26th, 2013 @ 7:29 am
I definitely plan to make these biscuits again some time. They’d be delicious even without the creamy pot pie filling under them.
I love the thought of throwing the extra veggies in, i think a lot of people are hesitant to do so. This looks so delicious and satisfying 🙂
beantownbaker — March 26th, 2013 @ 8:16 pm
Yea when it comes to cooking, I figure there’s no harm in playing with recipes. Baking is another story…
My boyfriend, who eats a good portion of the overall meals I cook plus leftovers, hates veggies. This is a problem, because I don’t like food going bad but I can’t eat it all myself. I love recipes like this because it’d probably be SO tasty, he’d hardly even notice the abundance of green. Or he’d pick the peas out. Who knows.
beantownbaker — March 26th, 2013 @ 8:16 pm
I can’t imagine hating veggies… But I agree, I think he’d hardly notice the veggies in this. It’s that creamy and delicious.
This recipe looks delicious. Do you know the nutritional values? If you post it on http://www.myrecipemagic.com they will calculate it for you and you can get paid for posting recipes.
I love that you topped this off with biscuits instead of the traditional flaky crust!
beantownbaker — March 28th, 2013 @ 6:53 am
Biscuits are always the right answer 😉