Lazy Chicken

This is the easiest chicken recipe ever. It uses what you have on hand and is foolproof. Try it on a night when thinking is no longer possible!

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Yawn …
2. Line the top of your broiler pan with foil, and cut slits in the foil to allow fat to drain. This can be cathartic, depending upon your day.
3. Place fresh or frozen chicken pieces on top of the foil, with all parts tucked inside the broiler edges, so that fat doesn’t spill onto the oven floor. That would make more work, and this is lazy chicken.
4. Grab handfuls of spice mixtures or herbs from the shelf and toss a tablespoon on each piece of whatever satisfies your whims. Or is closest to you at that moment. Or which will incite the least amount of complaints. Whatever. (See note below.)
5. Pop the broiler pan in the oven, and chicken will be cooked through in approximately an hour. This is long enough to make side dishes, or: take a nap, sit on the porch swing, or briefly daydream about having the time to do any of the above.
6. After an hour, chicken should have a golden skin. Take a knife and fork and test the middle of the largest piece for done-ness. Pink is too lazy. Food poisoning takes more energy, so cook a wee bit longer, until no longer pink.
7. Eat.

Notes/updates:
– In the interest of TK happiness, I have “researched” alternate methods (in frantic desperation) and added some tips for the laziest and latest of cooking chicken. These techniques work well with very frozen chicken!

First method: It is possible to crank up the oven to 375 F to 380 F if the chicken can be fully encased by an upside down 13 X 9 clear glass oven-safe cake pan, so as to retain as many of the juices and to prevent overheating while steaming the chicken, thereby skipping defrost of chicken. If a crispy skin is desired, uncover it in the last few minutes and broil on high for just a couple of minutes, to prevent drying out the chicken.

Second method: If using the suggested (manufacturer provided) 2 piece broiler pan, pour a cup or so of tap water in the bottom of the pan, cover with the top of the broiler rack, and load and cook the chicken as in the original recipe. The only difference for this method is that you should set oven to 375 F. The steaming action is great, but take care when removing pans from the oven to avoid hot water burns. Ahem.

Third method: If chicken pieces are too large, or too many pieces are crowded on the pan, this may cause the chicken to take longer than an hour to cook. This can happen if trying to make Lazy Chicken into 2 Night Lazy Chicken. Ahem. This makes more work for you, but if you watch the temperature, and when chicken has internal temperature of around 150 F crank the oven to Broil/High, move to a lower rack in the oven and broil for a few minutes until skin is browned to your liking.

Tips: No matter the method, an hour is typically what it takes for safety, at least with bone-in chicken. I always use a meat thermometer, but if it getting close to done, take the chicken out to rest to prevent drying. Often it will reach the right temperature in a few minutes, or if not a quick High/Broil will finish the job.

Always verify with your thermometer! Bone-in (and cheaper) pieces often are the tastiest using this method. Also, smaller pieces, like drumsticks, cook especially fast in a pinch. If small pieces are mixed with other larger cuts, put them in the center of the pan if possible, and bigger bulges of meat towards the outside.

The important thing is that you didn’t have to think too much to make it happen, and picky people have their mouths filled with food and cannot complain much. Yeah, You! Now go take a nap, since I did the work for you so you wouldn’t have to!

Note regarding the spices: Rosemary, thyme, oregano, parsley, paprika or favorite spice blends or flavored salts, like garlic salt (very popular) work well. I tend to make one piece of each spice or blend I choose. My favorite seasoning is Old Bay. And feel free to pack that pan full of pieces for even lazier, 2 Night leftover chicken!

You’re welcome x 2.

(No image available. Lazy Chicken is too lazy for a photography session.)