Cajun Roasted Chicken

A couple weekends ago, I decided to roast a bird because it was raining and well, we found ourselves with a weekend completely to ourselves!  So we invited a friend over, ran to the grocery (with a quick Starbucks run), then headed home to get this beautiful chicken in oven.  There is just something so comforting about roasting a whole chicken.  Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm!  Michael requested a Cajun rub, so we compromised with a lightly rubbed Cajun chicken so that Annalyn could enjoy it, too, without too much spice.  I served it with this stovetop cornbread and this amazing coleslaw.  Here's how Mama makes it:

Cajun Roasted Chicken



Ingredients:
- 1 whole chicken
- 1 lemon, zested and sliced
- 1 onion, sliced
- 2 t. chili powder
- 1 t. smoked paprika
- 1/2 t. garlic powder
- 1/2 t. thyme
- 1/4 t. cayenne pepper
- salt & pepper
- 3 T. butter
- 2 T. olive oil
- 2 c. chicken stock

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Remove bag of "goodies" from inside the chicken.  Throw them away - I'm sorry, but in my kitchen, that's where they belong.  Rinse chicken and pat try with paper towels.

2.  Slice onions, scatter half in the bottom of a roasting pan.  Drizzle with olive oil, then place chicken breast side up on top of the onions.  Zest the lemon, then slice and stuff remaining onions and lemon slices inside the chicken.

3.  Combine zest with spices in a small dish.  Rub over the chicken.

4.  Tie legs of chicken with some kitchen twine.  Cut butter into chunks and scatter on the chicken.

5.  Pour about 1 c. of chicken stock in the bottom of the pan.  Bake for 1.5 - 2.5 hours based on the size of your chicken (mine was about 5.5 lbs. and it reached an internal temperature of 170 after about 2 hours 15 minutes).  Every 30 minutes or so, baste the chicken with pan juices and add another 1/2 c. chicken stock.  Remove from oven, tent with foil for about 10 minutes to allow juices to reincorporate into the meat.  Carve and serve!  I served it with this delicious coleslaw and stovetop cornbread.

basting time!

tent with foil for about 10 min.

what a beautiful bird!

printable recipe

If you love this recipe, check out Making Mama's Kitchen cookbook, now available for pre-sale!!