Everyone Begs My Dad for His Foolproof Roast Chicken Recipe—And He Finally Spilled
Here's the 1-ingredient upgrade he uses to make it.
Dotdash Meredith / Janet Maples
My dad is great at a lot of things, but if there’s one thing that he truly excels at, it’s roasting a great chicken. Over the years he has experimented with almost every spice known to man, but none compares to his signature (and simple) creation: his famous Everything Bagel Roast Chicken.
When I say famous, I mean everyone within a 10-mile radius of my hometown knows about this chicken. It’s my dad’s go-to meal for a quick, impressive main dish that always leaves people amazed and begging for the recipe, despite the fact that it's made with just a handful of ingredients.
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This recipe was born during the everything bagel seasoning phenomenon when people couldn’t get enough of adding this seasoning to everything from dips to eggs a few years back. My dad, being the culinary genius that he is, had the smart idea one night to add everything bagel seasoning to a roast chicken as it already has a plethora of ingredients—poppy seeds, sesame seeds, dried garlic flakes, dried onion flakes, and kosher salt—that compliment roast chicken, but in one convenient bottle.
The most remarkable thing about this dish (aside from its rich savory flavor) is that it is so simple and is practically guaranteed to always come out great. It can be made with any cut of chicken—thighs, breasts, whole, and quarters—and after it's roasted, the recipe leaves an excellent gravy that pairs perfectly over potatoes, broccoli, green beans, or nearly any other side.
It’s a dish that never fails to impress, and so much so that it’s a staple in our family’s weekly rotation at my family’s house. And now that I live away from home, I finally begged him to give me the recipe so now it’s on rotation in the kitchen, and now that I’m sharing it with you all, I’m confident it’ll be one in your home as well.
How to Make Everything Bagel Chicken
The cut of chicken that you use for this recipe is flexible. On a busy weeknight, my dad opts for leg quarters because they are usually the cheapest at the grocery store and pack a ton of flavor.
Ingredients
4 who leg quarters
Everything Bagel Seasoning (such as Trader Joe’s Brand)
1/4 cup of olive oil
6 to 8 whole cloves of crushed garlic
1/2 lager beer (drink the other half)
2 Tbsp soy sauce
4 tablespoons of salted butter
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Start by trimming any excess fat from the leg quarters. Then, pat them dry and brush olive oil all over.
Sprinkle both sides generously with Everything Bagel Seasoning, which already contains salt, eliminating the need for additional seasoning.
In an oven-safe skillet over medium heat, add two more tablespoons of olive oil and brown the chicken skin-side down for 4 to 6 minutes until golden brown. Flip the chicken and brown the other side for two minutes.
Turn off the heat and pour beer along the sides of the skillet, being careful not to pour over the crispy skin. Add loosely crushed garlic cloves and drizzle the seasoning sauce into the pan. Place knobs of butter over the chicken and transfer the skillet to the oven.
Roast for 40 to 45 minutes until the chicken is deeply browned.
The juices from the chicken, beer, and garlic create a flavorful pan sauce, perfect for dipping crusty bread or drizzling over the chicken. For a thicker sauce, remove the chicken and whisk 1/2 teaspoon of cornstarch into the pan juices over low heat before serving.
Read the original article on All Recipes.
