SPRING has finally shown her glorious face here in the MW!! Thank heavens, because I was starting to get one serious case of fever folks! That polar vortex rubbish was no joke; it had me feeling all kinds of unmotivated and sluggish. Isn't it funny how just a little sunshine can really brighten our days? I'm feeling all kinds of energized now like my lil' solar battery of a spirit has been fully charged or I just chugged a pot of coffee, jug of soda, and a couple red bulls type of amped up! Fresh air, sunshine, and temps that don't freeze your face give me happy vibes galore. On another positive note, I just welcomed a new fur buddy to my pack, named Quagmire. He's a total ball of too much youngster energy (& a little creep lol)! If puppies can't lift your spirits and put a lil smile on your face and some pep in your step, I don't know that anything can!? FOR REAL, if you don't like puppies just hit the back button now, cuz we can't be pals, seriously though. N.E. WHO < Moving onto this Divine Ginger Ale Chicken, it's so freaking scrumptious peoples! I've seen numerous recipes for Dr.Pepper & Coke Pulled Pork, 7-Up Chicken, and I personally, adore BBQ Root Beer pulled pork, but what about some GINGER ALE MEATS YO?! It seemed like that left out, misfit soda in all these meaty creations on the inter web, so I decided to show it a little love and embrace its' unique gloriousness. PLUS, Ginger Ale just so happened to be on sale for 99 cents a 2 Liter (and whole chickens were on sale as well, so it was like the cosmos wanted me to make this glorious thrifty, chicken concoction for y'all lol)! Move over Dr.Pepper, Coke, and 7-UP, because it's Ginger Ales' time to shine ;)
Whatcha ' Need:
- 5-7 lb Whole Chicken (mine was slightly over 7lbs, and it will serve many of delish purposes to follow)
- 2 cups Ginger Ale (more/less depending on size of bird^)
- 5- 7 med/lg Russet or Idaho potatoes
- 1 large onion (diced)
- 1/2 bag frozen green beans (or 1 can drained)
- 4 TBS Cold Butter or Margarine (cut into 4 slabs)
- 1+ tsp each of lemon pepper, paprika, cumin, & Italian Blend seasoning
- 1/2tsp +/- garlic powder, oregano, salt, (& Cajun seasoning opt)
First, gather all the dry spices, and place the recommended or desired amount in a small mixing bowl, and measure out the ginger ale and set it aside. Then lightly grease a large roasting pan w/ non stick cooking spray.
Next, rinse the inside & outside of the chicken in your sink, remove giblets/neck, and pat it dry w/ a paper towel. Place the bird breast side up in the middle of the greased pan.
Now, take the dry spices and rub them all over the outside of the bird, sprinkle inside, carefully, pull up on the chicken breast skin and rub spices underneath the skin as well. (wash those dirty bird hands after touching the raw chicken and b4 touching anything else to prevent spreading the funkies all over the place lol)
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| Sorry about the awkward view, but this way you can more easily see how I put the spices/butter under the skin as well ;) |
Next, cut half a stick of butter into 4~ TBS sized slabs and place them underneath the chicken skin a top the breast region.
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| Adding butter under the skin makes for a super moist chicken if it's not over cooked ;) |
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F)
Now clean, remove funky spots, and cut the potatoes into nice hearty sized chunks like (6-8 chunks per potato or so). Spread them around the chicken in the pan along with the diced onion. Sprinkle the potatoes w/ a dash of the seasonings used to coat the bird (like 1/4 tsp or so just for extra flavour)
Pour the ginger ale over and inside the bird's cavity and on top of the potato/onion mixture in the pan.
Cover the chicken with aluminum foil and bake for about 1.5 hours depending on the size of the bird.
My chicken was slightly over 7lbs so I baked it for 1 hour and 45 minutes with the foil on. (about 20 minutes per pound is usually a good rule of thumb when making any large chunk of meat in the oven)
I removed the chicken from the oven, uncovered it, and basted it with the yummy pan juices. Then, put in the frozen (or drained can) green beans and placed the chicken back in the oven with the foil off for another 35-45 minutes or so (again depending on the size of your bird).
Many chickens have pop up timers, but they can not always be a great indicator of actual doneness so always test w/ a meat thermometer (and by wiggling the leg on the chicken) The thigh is the thickest part of the chicken, so if the leg seems super jiggly like it could fall right off with a slight tug and the juices are clear then the bird is most likely done, but again, always check with a meat thermometer if unsure, by inserting it in the thigh region of the chicken (not breast).
I hope you dig this dish! Thanks for popping in, and big HUGS!
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