Cast Iron Baked Chicken

 25 May 2021

Recipe from Cook's Country, February 2018

This recipe is from the Cook's Country TV show from a few years ago. I must have liked what I saw as I made a note of it and have recently gotten around to making it. It is a relatively quick recipe that makes a fair amount of chicken without a large investment of time.

I broke down a whole 4-pound chicken though the recipe calls for bone-in chicken pieces. I'm comfortable breaking down a chicken and it is more convenient and less expensive than buying pieces. A cast iron skillet was placed in a cold oven which was then turned on and set to 450°. Paprika, salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder were mixed. The chicken pieces were patted dry and seasoned with the spice mixture. When the oven reached 450° the hot skillet was removed. Butter was placed into the skillet and after it had melted fresh thyme sprigs were added. The chicken was added, skin side down, and returned to the oven for 15 minutes. The skillet was then removed and the chicken pieces flipped over. It was returned to the oven and baked for 15 minutes. At this point the chicken had exceeded the target temperatures of 160° for the breasts and 175° for the thighs and drumsticks. After cooling for 10 minutes the chicken was basted with the pan juices and served. 

This was good chicken and very easy and quick to prepare. The herbs provide a nice flavor. The skin was a little crispy and edible, though we are not fixated on producing crispy skin. The breasts were a little dry, I need to check the temperature a little earlier than I did. For the modest investment of time and effort this is certainly chicken worth having again. It provided four dinners for the two of us.