Island Spiced Chicken

 Guess what?  It is chicken night again in my house!  Whole chickens were on sale when we went to the grocery store the other day so I picked one up.  At the time, I was not sure what I wanted to do with it but where I live, 99¢ a pound is a pretty good deal so I could not pass it up. 

I thought about the flavors that I was in the mood for and I decided on something with a Jamaican/island-type flavors.  What I came up with was Island Spiced Chicken.  At first, I wanted to add a little rum to the recipe but when I dug through my cupboards the only thing I came up with was a bottle of tequila that had been left at our house by a friend when we lived in Montana about 5 years ago.  It only had about 1/8^th of a cup of liquid left in it then and it only had 1/8^th of a cup of liquid left in it when I started the recipe.  I used it all and fortunately, it was the exact right amount for my recipe.

Unlike the recipe that I posted the other day, my recipe for Island Spiced Chicken does contain a small amount of salt.  I thought it might be worth mentioning that when I use salt in a recipe, I like to get the most bang for my buck so I generally use seasoning salt.  For a long time, I used a national brand of seasoning salt but a few years ago, I found out that a childhood friend of my husband manufactures and sells his own brand of seasoning salt:  Alden’s Seasonings.  I was very skeptical at first because I had been using the same brand of seasoning salt for my entire life.  I decided to give Alden’s Seasonings a try.  I immediately knew that I had stumbled upon something special – something that my kitchen would never again be without.  The quality and flavors are out of this world and the prices are comparable to what I had been paying for the national brand.  Alden’s Seasonings has multiple blends of seasoning salt but my favorite is the Pink Himalayan blend.  If you are interested in Alden’s Seasonings, contact Alden via his Facebook page for more information on pricing and ordering.

Island Spiced Chicken

Ingredients

• 1/8 cup tequila
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 (3 pound) whole chicken
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions

1. Combine tequila, lime juice, brown sugar and all spices in a small bowl and mix well.  (This should be the consistency of loose mud.)
2. Clean chicken, rinse inside and out with cold water then pat dry with a paper towel and place chicken breast up in a roasting pan or dish.
3. Separate the skin from the chicken breast, leg and thigh by sliding hand between the skin and meat, being careful not to tear the skin.
4. Using your hand, spread the spice mixture between the skin and meat.  Use any remaining spice mixture to rub into skin.
5. Tuck wing tips up and over, behind the back and truss together chicken legs with a bit of kitchen twine.
6. Cover chicken and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour or up to overnight.
7. Preheat oven to 325°F.
8. Uncover chicken and drizzle with olive oil.
9. Place in oven and allow to bake for about 90 minutes, until the juices run clear or until a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh reaches 180°F.
10. Allow the chicken to rest for 10 minutes before carving.

What is on your table tonight?  Comment below and let me know!