The Thanks giving spread included Turkey biriyani, whole roasted chicken, kheema gravy, chicken 65 , raitha , rasam rice and for dessert I made carrot cake, pistachio ice cream and bought an apple pie.
After that meal we couldn't go for the Thanks giving sale that night. So slept a little and got up early and got some of the deals:)
This post reminds me of my mom's whole fried chicken too (which I haven't tried by myself till now) ....:)
Hope you all like my roasted / baked chicken!
Baked whole chicken I made for Thanks Giving day. |
Important points before roasting turkey or chicken:
Calculate the number of guests, servings and buy meat accordingly (generally 1 lb or little lesser per person).Plan ahead and calculate the cooking time of the bird.
Click to see thawing time.
Calculate the time required for baking the chicken or turkey.
Be strictly hygienic, as this recipe involves overnight marination inside fridge.
Ingredients: (I used)
Whole chicken - 7 lb (Calculate 1 lb for 1 person)
Butter - 8 tbsp
turmeric - 1 tbsp
salt - 2 tbsp
lemon - 2
onion - 1/2 kg
garlic - 6 pearls
herbs - cilantro, mint (handful)
chat masala - 1 tbsp
To make Tandoori masala:
Thick curd - 1 cupGinger garlic paste - 2 tbsp
salt - to taste
Pepper powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 2 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
(Instead we can grind 3 cloves, 2 inch cinnamon, 2 cardamom, 1/2 tsp cumin , 1/2 tsp fennel)
white vinegar - 1/2 cup
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Red food color - 4 drops (no need)
butter / oil - 4 tbsp
Mix all the items above in a broad vessel. This is the freshly prepared tandoori masala.
Processing the whole chicken:
Buy a whole chicken with skin. Let us assume that we are buying the chicken a few days before Thanks giving:) Carefully remove the organs kept inside chicken in the pouch. I save the giblets and liver in freezer for later use.
Now keep it in freezer till we need it.
The day before cooking, remove the bird from freezer and put it in a big bowl of water or leave in refrigerator till it thaws.
It should finish thawing before we go to bed:)
Marination:
The chicken was marinated overnight in Indian Tandoori masala in refrigerator. |
Pat dry in kitchen paper towels.
Take a handful of tandoori masala (or any marination) and rub all over the skin. Then carefully put your hand inside the breast skin (without tearing the skin)
and rub more marination inside too. Likewise do for the back side too.
Pull the skin evenly and cover again. (Never do the raw stuffing overnight, as it will contaminate the bird). Place the bird along with excess marination in a big bowl and cover the lid tightly using aluminum foil. Using vinegar is a must for keeping the bird safe.
Keep the chicken marinated a whole night or 10-12 hours in refrigerator.
The next day morning take out the chicken and place it in a plate to drain excess marinade. Now stuff the prepared stuffing.
Stuffing:
I stuffed 2 onions thinly sliced, garlic 6 pearls, cilantro, mint.Take a handful of stuffing and fill the bird loosely.
Tie:
Drain the excess masala in a plate , do the stuffing and tie before baking. |
Place the chicken with breast side up.
Tie the legs as shown in photo.
With another long thread tie the whole bird , so that the wings also stay intact.
Tying is a must to get a beautiful shaped baked chicken. Otherwise the limb will go in every direction and we won't get a presentable version.
Baking the whole chicken:
First 30 minutes should be baked with an aluminum foil wrap to prevent darkening. |
After 1 hour. Onions and remaining marinade are poured around to increase moisture. |
After 3 hours of baking the chicken was almost done. Check now. |
Now place the chicken in a sturdy baking pan with handles.
Cover the breast portion of chicken with a small piece of aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.
After that remove the foil.
Now pour the remaining marinade to the pan.
I added few sliced onions to increase the moisture in chicken.
Basting:
Keep a basting brush ready.Bring 1 stick butter to room temperature and 1 tsp salt to it.
Every 20 minutes pull out the rack and apply some butter to the chicken.
After that scoop the juice collecting in the bottom and drizzle over the chicken.
This makes it very very juicy.
Then continue baking.
Don't turn it over.
I prepared a 7 lb chicken and so I needed 3 hours.
Allow 20-25 minutes for 1 lb chicken at 350 deg C.
Higher or lower temperatures will yield brown or dry meat.
After 1 hour the chicken will start roasting and it will get a beautiful red color all over.
After the prescribed time, the chicken will get a gorgeous golden brown color.
Now again apply a coat of butter all over the chicken.
Checking:
Pierce a knife to the breast (close to tied limb) and we will see a clear juice running out of it. (Baking thermometer can also be inserted near thighs, without touching bones. But I didn't use it).That's it ....... the chicken is roasted!
If not done, the cover and bake the chicken for another 20 minutes. It will not be necessary....I assure you:) .
Switch off and take out the roasted chicken with pan.
Remove the threads using a pair of scissors.
Setting time:
After 3 hours and 20 minutes the whole baked chicken was ready to serve. |
Take out the roasted chicken using two spatulas and place on the plate.
The remaining liquid can be used in making gravy and onion over briyani.
Again cover the chicken with a new piece of aluminum foil and let the juices settle for 20 minutes. This will make carving easy.
Whole roasted chicken is ready!
Serving suggestion:
Thanks giving day is always a turkey day too! Turkey briyani with whole baked chicken. |
Serve with any kind of rice or bread.
I served Turkey biriyani along with roasted chicken.
Roasted chicken tastes great with hot sauce as a dipping and some lemon wedges.
Note:
The white meat will be very moist,tender and juicy just like the red meat, if prepared with the above said procedure and butter.Marination / stuffing can be varied according to taste without altering butter quantity and procedure.
Left over:
The left over chicken can be sliced and wrapped in individual servings and kept frozen for future use.I like using left over chicken in wraps and curries.
21 comments:
Roasted chicken is yum, that was a perfect menu for thanksgiving.
Slurp,salivating here, irresistible chicken...
Liked the step by step recipe....The chicken looks irresistible
That looks GOOD! We made a roasted chicken too for Thanksgiving!
Happy thanksgiving Viki..hope u had a great time...Don't be lazy as u mention ed..try out the noodles and let me know
btw the roasted chicken looks so mouth-watering..
looks perfect nd delicious...
Yum yum,roasted chicken looks super irresistible,makes me hungry.
turkey biryani..now that's yum!
San: Thank you dear!
Divya: Thank you dear!
Aysha: Thank you dear!
Manju: Thank you dear!
Saraswathy: Thank you dear! Sure, I should get more enthu and make that noodle like yours:) It's a shame that till now I am clinging to the MW cup-noodles:)
Tina: Thank you dear!
Priya: Thank you dear! All your comments and regular visits make me more comfortable with blogging. Thanks for supporting me Priya.
Lizy: Thanks dear....Thanksgiving is always a turkey day here:)
Nice post for thanks giving day viki :)
Thank you Chithra dear. It's so sweet of you always.
Thanks Aarthi.
I want this whole chicken..
You are always welcome Seetha. Keep visiting dear!
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