~ Easy Oven-Roasted Barbecued Chicken Quarters ~
A nice big piece of perfectly-cooked fall-off-the-bone-tender barbecued chicken, hot of the grill grids and dripping with a fresh slather of tangy barbecue sauce, is one of my favorite meals. That said, timing is everything, and the slightest time delay, as little as three short minutes, can cause the chicken to go from juicy and succulent to dry and tough -- this is further complicated if a combination of various-sized chicken parts (breasts, legs and thighs) are cooking at the same time. Sure, it's easily controlled, by babysitting each piece during the last five minutes of the cooking process, but, it's never correctable once the damage is done. Trust me, oven-roasting removes all room for error, and, chicken leg-thigh quarters are my favorite pick for a quick meal.
Oven-roasted chicken leg-thigh quarters are on my weeknight meal rotation two or three times a month. They're tender and juicy, and, sigh-oh-my, that gorgeous, golden, crispy skin. Each one is a one-piece drumstick and thigh, which means each piece is the perfect one portion, so, no guesswork involved, you never have any leftovers (unless you want leftovers, then you roast six-eight). No matter what you're seasoning or saucing them with (the possibilities are almost endless), the upfront prep-work is minimal. Into the oven they go for 1 hour, 15-20 minutes, and, your hands are, for the most part, free to make an easy side-dish or two and set the table.
Three on-hand ingredients + 1 hour, 15 minutes = dinner:
For the Barbecued-style chicken leg-thigh quarters:
4 chicken leg-thigh quarters, about 4-4 1/2 pounds
freshly-ground sea salt and peppercorn blend, or, your favorite barbecue seasoning blend
2 cups K.C.-style barbecue sauce, your favorite brand or favorite homemade K.C.-style recipe, about 1/2 cup for basting chicken quarters 3-4 times while it's in the oven, plus enough to be served for dipping or drizzling at the table
~Step 1. Arrange chicken quarters in a large disposable roasting pan into which a wire rack has been inserted and a sheet of parchment has been placed atop rack. Season tops of chicken freshly-ground sea salt and peppercorn blend, or with your favorite barbecue seasoning. Roast on center rack of 350° oven, 1 hour. Remove the pan from the oven, use a pastry brush to baste each chicken quarter with wing sauce, and return pan to oven to roast for 5 more minutes. Repeat this basting process 2-3 more times, for a total roasting time of 1 hour, 15-20 minutes.
Plate 'em up along w/side-servings, then, call all to the table:
I serve 'em w/my better than store-bought mac & cheese:
Easy Oven-Roasted Barbecued Chicken Quarters: Recipe yields 4 servings.
Special Equipment List: 2-cup measuring container; 20" x 12" x 4" disposable aluminum roasting pan, or, 17 1/2" x 12 1/2" baking pan; wire cooling rack; parchment paper; pastry brush
Cook's Note: I love my oven-roasted barbecued chicken served with my hot-off-the-stovetop macaroni and cheese. I also love my oven-roasted barbecued chicken served with cold, crunchy and creamy macaroni salad. How do I decide which to serve? A flip of the coin.
"We are all in this food world together." ~ Melanie Preschutti
(Recipe, Commentary and Photos courtesy of Melanie's Kitchen/Copyright 2020)
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