Monday, October 31, 2011

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!!!






6 comments:

  1. Oh my god, those Brussels Sprouts and the pile of mashed potatoes look so delicious! So what was JJ’s verdict? Has he become a chicken convert? Love this post, I can just picture you giggling as you were rubbing that chicken!

    Six out of six reviews – I’m so impressed Beauties!

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  2. You did it!! Woot! And omg, I'm laughing at the bird rub down. Whatever floats your boat sister... Lol!

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  3. Not sure he is convert yet but he did say, and I quote "this is pretty good". Hahaha :)

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  4. And the pile of potatoes really isn't bigger than the piece of chicken - its, ummmm, just the angle of the picture...

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  5. This post made me laugh! I never thought about it either but I bet beer does smell a little funky when heated! :)

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  6. I am so happy to hear from you! I can't believe you didn't even provide pictures of your chicken with your chicken.

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