Roasted Chicken with a Brown Sugar Glaze

Val's Version

(Denver, CO)

I was googling images to make sure I placed my chicken little in the roasting pan correctly, 

and came across this … 

Di-sturb-ing. This is not my hand nor would I EVER do something like this.

Ok - back to reality … and normalcy. Sorta.

When I was reading the recipe and saw that butter and brown sugar were THE flavor, it made me think of dessert, so I got really excited. 

Then I saw the naked chicken. 

Mix and prepare yourself for the grotesque fondling of the helpless little bird. 

(I am not a fan of this step and will consider having my 11 year old do it next time).

Get the goodness spread all over - in the crevices and all - and put the bird

into the oven for an hour, plus.

I checked at about the hour mark and knew I only had a few more minutes to go. That and my smoke detector kept going off because of the juices burning in the roasting pan. 

This came out very juicy and tender. We also had some corn on the cob (I cut mine off to share with my toddler), green beans and salad. Delish!

Quote of the night from my daughter, Cali: 

"I would say I'm impressed, but I'm not impressed because you're a good cook and I get meals like this every night. But, it's really good!"

Oh - and don't ever forget a sweet treat … gotta love Orange "SHERBERT" Mini Cupcakes :)

(I cheated - thanks, Duncan Hines)

Jen's Version 

(Acworth, GA)

Ugh, here we are again with having to handle raw meat...

Cooking whole chickens is the only time I consider being a vegetarian. Until I eat it...

And Val thought the picture she found was weird! I lathered this baby up with butter and brown sugar. The recipe we found suggested placing a beer can inside the chicken with some beer left in it. I thought what the heck, why not. Very, VERY weird concept.

Might be one of the prettiest chickens I've ever roasted.

It took about 1 hr 20 mins in a 425 degree oven. Completely worth all the effort of waiting.

I paired the chicken with cous cous. I wanted to try something new as a side, and Chris suggested the cous cous. Didn't know he was a fan of the middle eastern grain. I cooked it as the package suggested and added fresh lemon and parsley.

It wasn't MY favorite all by itself so I made a little cous cous salad...

I would say the family enjoyed this dinner.

Brown Sugar Butter Roasted Chicken

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hr and 20 minutes (cool for 15-20 minutes)

Total Time: about 2 hours

Ingredients: 

1 roasting chicken (any size will do - adjust butter to size of chicken)

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp course sea salt

1 tsp black pepper

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Clean and prepare your chicken for roasting; wash, dry and remove giblets. Combine softened butter and brown sugar in a bowl until creamy. Use your hands and rub the butter mixture all over the chicken. Sprinkle the entire chicken with salt and pepper. Set the chicken in a roasting pan, breast side up, OR you can roast it over a can of beer if you do not have a roasting pan - set the beer can with a few sips of beer left into the pan and shove it up into the chicken. Feel free to add sliced onions around the chicken, but other veggies won't hold up. The butter and sugar really caramelize the chicken. Roast for about an hour and 20 minutes. Slice the leg and if juices run clear … winner winner, chicken dinner! Wait about 15 to 20 minutes before cutting and serving with some tasty veggies. 

Thanks, Jessica, for this sweet eat!