Recipe Fowler's Roast Chicken

FowlersFreeTime

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When I lived in an apartment for the very first time, my mother taught me a fairly simple way to roast a chicken. This recipe is ingrained in me and has not deviated much from her lesson that day. There are fancier ways to roast a chicken, but that's not what this is about. This is honest quality home cooking anyone can make and enjoy.

Ingredients:
1 whole Chicken
1/2 head of Garlic
1 large Yellow Onion (or 2 small)
4 stalks of Green Onion (aka Scallions)
1 Scotch Bonnet Pepper (Habanero will do if that's all you can find)
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1/4 cup Sherry
1 bunch of Thyme
1 tbs Butter
Salt & Black Pepper

Method:
There are a few steps to follow, but if an idiot like me can memorize this, anyone should be able to follow along haha!
  1. Prep the Marinade by blending together the garlic, half a large onion (or 1 small), scallions, de-seeded scotch bonnet pepper, soy sauce, sherry, thyme leaves and about a tablespoon each of salt and black pepper.
  2. Prepare the chicken by cleaning out cavity, trimming parsons nose, you know all the usual prep work.
  3. Place chicken in a large bowl and pour on marinade. Be sure to get a good amount in the cavity as well. Rub chicken to ensure marinade is coating it and then leave the chicken breast-side down in this bowl of marinade.
  4. Refrigerate 6-8 hours; overnight is best.
  5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees (Fahrenheit).
  6. While oven is preheating, prepare roasting pan with sufficient aluminum foil to be able to wrap the chicken. Don't forget to spray the foil or apply oil so it doesn't stick to your chicken.
  7. Place chicken in center of foil, breast-side up, wiping away some of the marinade from top of the chicken to prevent it from burning. Stuff the cavity with half an onion (or 1 small onion) thinly sliced and a sprig of thyme. This onion will be used in the gravy later, if you chose to make gravy.
  8. Now loosely close the foil above the chicken, like a tent.
  9. Place in oven for 1 hour.

    This next phase will take 45-60 minutes depending on size of chicken.
  10. After the first hour of cooking, carefully peel back the foil tent and crimp to the sides. You will notice that the chicken and marinade have sprung quite a good bit of moisture: great gravy makings there! Spoon some of the pan drippings over the chicken breast and then put chicken back in the oven for 20 minutes.
  11. The top of the chicken should now be getting some more color. To aide the transformation, rub a tablespoon of butter over the top of the chicken at this time.
  12. Over the next 25 minutes, peak in every couple minutes to baste the chicken with its own juices.
  13. When your chicken reads an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit, remove from oven and let it rest.
Optional at this point: Gravy
Drain pan drippings into a pot, transferring the onion from the chicken cavity, to make the gravy. I like to add mushrooms to the gravy pot and cook on medium heat for 15 minutes. Taste as you go along, salt and pepper to taste. If the flavor is weak, add chicken bullion (our little secret), if its too salty, add a bit of water. To thicken the gravy, mix a tablespoon of cornstarch with a bit of water in a separate cup and then stir this mixture into your gravy. Turn heat down to simmer. Remember it will thicken upon standing, so don't reduce it too much.

Enjoy!

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Last edited:
The secret ingredient really is fresh, Jamaican Scotch Bonnet Pepper. They're hot, but flavorful!
View attachment 72377

Scotch Bonnets are very hard to find here. Habaneros, being from Mexico, are in every grocery store here. They are the same species of chili, with similar flavor, but not exactly the same flavor.

Anyway, when I want to cook Caribbean food, I have to replace the Scotch Bonnets with Habaneros.

CD
 
Scotch Bonnets are very hard to find here. Habaneros, being from Mexico, are in every grocery store here. They are the same species of chili, with similar flavor, but not exactly the same flavor.

Anyway, when I want to cook Caribbean food, I have to replace the Scotch Bonnets with Habaneros.

CD
Totally understandable CD, and I admit (in shame to my homeland) that I have used Habaneros on occasions when Scotch Bonnets were not available. This is also why I grow them now hehe.
 
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