Mo’s Oven Roasted Chicken

Mo’s Oven Roasted Chicken

with mom’s bbq sauce

Let’s get real…roasting chicken is serious business and is actually harder than it looks. Some take it to the extreme by brining and drying out their chickens for two plus days before allowing them anywhere near an oven. Me…I don’t have that kind of time or patience. I prefer to do a dry rub (lazy gal brine) and then baste it with a BBQ sauce that my mom came up with a few years back. It is still labor intensive, but the taste is totally worth the time and effort.

The secret to roasting a chicken is to dry out the bird as much as possible before placing it in the oven. The dryer it is, the less likely the meat is to “steam,” which will create a crispier skin and extremely flavorful and moist meat. I do a double “dry out” method when prepping my chicken because it allows the rub to really get marinated into the skin of the chicken.

My Mom’s BBQ sauce that I use in this recipe is a sweet and spicy blend of flavors that is finger lickin’ good. I like my version to have a little extra kick, especially since the longer it roasts in the oven the sweeter the sauce tends to get, so I add slightly more red pepper flakes than the recipe calls for. And of course, I always have extra sauce on the side when serving time comes around. So round up there crew and get to eating!

Mom’s BBQ Sauce:

• ½ c. to 1 c. of Brown Sugar
• 2 tbsp. Smoked Paprika
• 1 tbsp. Garlic Powder
• ½ tbsp. Kosher Salt
• 2 tsp. Dried Crushed Red Pepper
• 1 tsp. Onion Powder
• 2 tsp. Dry Mustard
• 1 tsp. Ground Pepper
• 1 Small Can of Tomato Paste
• 5 Shakes of Worchester Sauce
• ¼ c. Molasses
• 1-2 Tbsp. of Apple Cider Vinegar
• Water for Consistency (about ½ c. to 1 c.)

Directions:

1. Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pinfeathers and pat the outside dry. Place in a baking dish and then “dry it out” by letting it rest in the refrigerator uncovered for about 1-4 hours. The longer it dries out the better.
2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Remove chicken from the refrigerator and place in a clean baking dish. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Rub the 1 tbsp. of olive oil all over the chicken and then liberally coat with Mo’s Dry Rub Mix. Place back in the refrigerator for 1-2 hour.
3. Roast the chicken for 1 ½ hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg or thigh. The last 30 minutes of roasting, baste the chicken with Mom’s BBQ Sauce (I keep a jar of this made and ready in my refrigerator. Recipe directions can be found below).
4. Remove from the oven and cover with aluminum foil and rest for about 20 minutes. Slice and serve.

*Mom’s BBQ Sauce Directions: Add all the ingredients to a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat. Then let it simmer on the stove for about 20 minutes over medium-low heat until it thickens.   If the sauce is too thick add water to it and let simmer. Once the sauce is at a consistency liked, remove from the stove. Can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks if in a sealable container.