Rachel's Review: Oktoberfest Chicken

I was so excited to try this recipe - we aren't huge poultry eaters at my house, mainly because JJ thinks chicken has no flavor. In his opinion - chicken tastes like whatever you cook it in. Soooo...chicken cooked in beer should be pretty tasty right? I chose a seasonal beer - Shock Top Pumpkin Wheat.

I followed the recipe fairly closely (no cheaters here) except I used bottled lemon juice instead of fresh and thyme instead of sage. The butter/garlic/thyme/pepper combination smelled SOOOO heavenly and it actually made me enjoy rubbing the chicken down. Is that weird? Popped the bird in the oven and let it start getting happy. I didn't really think about how beer cooking in the oven would smell - did anyone else think it started out kind of funky? Maybe it's just me :) But the funkiness went away quickly and the house started to smell fabulous, very comfort-foody. I pulled the bird out after the scheduled cooking time and snapped a quick picture while I finished up my sides - mashed potatoes and brussel sprouts.

Everything smelled and looked so good and we were both starving. I sliced into the bird and saw...PINK!! Ewwww!!! Not done!!! I probably should have paid more attention to what everyone else's chicken looked like when it came out of the oven - that is the advantage of being the last to post, right? Mine was definitely not the crispy delicious brown that it should have been. (Side note - This has nothing to do with the recipe, my oven just sucks. This happens more than I'd like to admit and I always forget.) So back in the oven it went and we tried to distract ourselves from our rumbling stomachs with a little TV. All it took was another 20 minutes and it was perfect.

That is a delicious plate of comfort food right there. Perfect for a fall evening! Looking forward to making this recipe again - next time I will not forget about my stupid oven and the extra cooking time.

Cheers and Happy Halloween everyone!!!