I absolutely love it when you buy a new cookbook (the big green Gourmet Today cookbook if you’re interested) and the very first recipe that you make is not only easy but completely delicious.
No fussing around. No tweaking. No second guessing.
Okay, I did make gravy instead of just deglazing the pan but I think that people generally shouldn’t quibble about the addition of gravy to any good chicken recipe.
I was torn whether to call this Easy Spiced Chicken or AWESOME Spiced Chicken.
It’s tender, tangy, and unusually addictive. When was the last time you said that about chicken?
The other great thing about this recipe is that it uses spices and ingredients that you probably already have sitting in your kitchen cabinet.
Here’s what you need:
Chicken, Olive Oil, Chili Powder, Ground Coriander, Cumin, Cinnamon, Salt, Pepper, Water, Flour & White Wine (both last minute additions so not pictured)
Click here for an Easy Spiced Chicken Shopping List
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
In a small bowl, combine 2 teaspoons of chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander, 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt (or more to taste), and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon.
Cinnamon might seem like a weird addition to chicken, but trust me on this one. There is only enough cinnamon to add a little perkiness to the flavor and not so much that you’re wondering why your chicken dinner tastes like breakfast cereal. Many cultures use cinnamon in savory dishes with great success.
Add 1 Tablespoon of good olive oil…
and stir the spices together until you have a nice paste.
I used 4 thighs and 5 legs, a bit more chicken than the original recipe called for so I had to make a little more spice rub. The great thing about this recipe is that as long as the ratios of the spices are correct, you can make more or less depending on how much chicken you want to cook. The quantities listed here should be plenty for 2-3 pounds of chicken pieces.
Feel free to use any combination of chicken pieces. I’m using all dark meat but chicken breasts would be great too. Having the chicken on the bone always creates a moister dish so this is probably not the best preparation for boneless chicken breasts. Leave the chicken skin on or take all or most of it off if you’re weird like me. Either way, it will not affect the tastiness of this dish.
Rub the spice mixture evenly all over the chicken pieces.
Heat 2 Tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Be sure to use a pan that is safe to go into a hot oven. Add the chicken pieces and brown on both sides – about 5-6 minutes.
Remember that your chicken will brown up nicely if you don’t move it around once it’s in the pan. The key to keeping your food from sticking is to leave it alone and not fiddle with it while it’s cooking.
When the chicken has browned on both sides, transfer the pan directly to the hot oven and continue to cook the chicken at 450 degrees for 20 – 25 more minutes. After about 15 minutes, I turned my chicken over in the pan so it could get nice and toasty brown on both sides.
Chicken photo fail…sorry for the blurriness but I wanted you to see all of those tasty browned bits in the pan.
When your chicken is cooked through and deliciously tender (160 degrees on an instant read thermometer if you’re unsure), remove it to a platter.
Put the pan back on the stove over medium heat. Spoon off almost all of the grease in the pan so that only 1-2 Tablespoons remain. Add 1 Tablespoon of flour and stir it into the crusty bits to make a roux.
Add 1/4 cup of dry white wine and 1/2 cup of water to the pan. Scrape up all of those browned bits from the bottom of the pan and stir until no flour lumps remain.
Pour the gravy over the platter of chicken and dig in!
This was so good that I, a person who is not a big fan of leftovers, at ALL the leftover chicken saving not even one tiny morsel for my poor husband. Ha! To the cook go the spoils and all the extra chicken legs!
Make this one soon. It’s really good. Perhaps even Awesome.
Here’s the recipe: Adapted from Gourmet Today
7 Responses
That sounds good! If you have a Savory Spice Shop nearby, try their Peruvian Lime Chili. I use that on fish and chicken. Last night I sprinkled that and black pepper on chicken thighs and grilled them. OMG, so good and it could not be easier! I love cooking (tho I’m not a baker) so I’ll be back!!
I’ll try to find that spice blend. It sounds great! We have a really great spice shop called the Spice and Tea Exchange…can’t go in there unsupervised or I go bonkers buying spices.
Looks delicious! I’ll be pinning it for cooler weather.
Having no a/c means that we do what we can to keep the house cool in the summer, and one of those things is keep indoor cooking to a bare minimum. Thankfully, we have outlets on the back deck (well, not ON the deck, but you know what I mean) so tonight’s stuffed bell peppers were in 2 crockpots happily heating the outdoors.
We are lucky to have a/c but I totally understand having been in the Minnesota heat wave this summer without it. My parent’s often put the toaster oven out on the patio to do things like baked potatoes in the summer so they don’t have to heat up the big oven. Crock pots are a great idea too! I would probably use it as an excuse to have fondue summer.
I think it looks awesome too! I love everything you make. I just wish you wold make it for me. 🙂
xoxo
Get in the car! Come on up! Bring our good friend Dave Matthews with you!