89 Cent Chicken

Grocery Finds: chicken leg quarters (on sale for 89 cents a pound)

Okay.  Here's the thing about chicken: it's cheap.  Usually on sale, it is easy to pick up and make a quick meal out of.  The thing is, it gets boring...and fast.  However, if you make it right, it can be delicious, and leftovers can always be repurposed (chicken salad, eggroll stuffing, chicken noodle soup, etc.).  There are a couple of tricks that I've learned over the years regarding chicken, and here they are (in no particular order):

1) boneless, skinless chicken breasts are NOT your friend.  Chicken on the bone is always, always juicier and more flavorful, and usually less expensive, too.

2) if you want crispy skin, salt your chicken and leave it uncovered in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours before cooking.  Sometimes this is called a 'dry brine', but that is deceiving, as the salt does not actually permeate the skin and therefore does not actually 'brine' the meat.

3) speaking of brining--I'm a fan!  A little brine goes a long way.  Here's a good article on brining turkeys, but the basic rules can be applied to chicken, too.

4) my favorite tip: for juicy, flavorful meat, instead of brining and/or applying a butter or oil rub under the skin, simply place thinly sliced raw rings of onion instead.  It adds flavor, keeps the meat moist, and also assists with crisping the skin!

5) a roasting rack is not necessary.  I learned this the hard way--I used to always place my chicken on a rack, but I eventually caught on that doing so evaporates the juices that drip off the chicken; once they hit the hot roasting pan, they evaporate.  Pan juices are like liquid gold (excellent for gravy or a pan sauce), so you don't want them to disappear!

Here are my chicken leg quarters, pre-onion.  I salted them last night and put them in the fridge to dry out.

As you can see, I stuffed the my leg quarters with onion under the skin.  If you aren't a fan of onions, this isn't the recipe for you--and that is a damn shame!

Here is the final product.  I placed a bed of baby carrots under my chicken, and added about 1/2 cup of chicken stock when roasting.  I roasted 5 leg quarters in a 400 degree oven for about an hour...however, I must confess that time/oven temp is all relative.  The bottom line for me, when it comes to poultry, is temperature--I always use my meat thermometer to determine whether or not it is done.  My little sister once poisoned herself with undercooked chicken.  That shit ain't cool!

In addition to the chicken, I also made a pan sauce with the chicken drippings, some minced shallots, lemon juice, and a bit of butter.

The Verdict

In conclusion, although this blog entry isn't particularly inspired, it IS insanely inexpensive--which is always fun!  My five chicken leg quarters cost $3.50, and served five people...which comes out to 70 cents a serving.  And THAT, my friends, is always a good thing.

Taste: 9

Appearance: 8

Creativity: 4

Improvements for next time: honestly, I can't think of any.  Maybe some additional root vegetables to add to the carrots?  Parsnips and turnips perhaps?