Easy Breezy Roast Chicken and Rice

Nearly everyone has a roasted chicken recipe.  In fact, roasting a chicken in the oven is in itself so easy, you almost don’t need a recipe.  Any number of rubs, spices and seasonings and stuffing can make a roasted chicken flavorful.  About the only specific science to engage in chicken roasting is to neither over nor under-cook it. But this recipe has the added bonus of giving you a savory rice accompaniment to this deliciously succulent, roasted bird. Perhaps the greater added benefit is that everything is prepared together, comes out of the oven at the same time and there is nothing to clean up after (save for the plates and cutlery with which you eat your dinner).  If followed precisely as written, you won’t need to worry about under or over-cooking the bird, either.  This recipe truly deserves the adjective “Easy.”
My Number One Fan gets credit for sourcing this recipe from a website called “South Your Mouth.”  We modified it, however, in both seasoning and cooking temperature, and as always, we go for using stock as opposed to broth.  There is no substitution for the flavor of a chicken or beef stock and they are as readily available as broth, so spend the extra pennies; it’ll be worth your while.  The South Your Mouth website had the usual indemnification verbiage to insert a thermometer into the the thigh of the bird and ensure a temperature of at least 175 degrees. Do that if you’re overly cautious.  We didn’t.  The chicken was perfectly done.

You will need an oven roasting bag for this dish.  Reynolds makes one, pictured here, but there are undoubtedly other brands.  Read the instructions carefully, however.  Oven bags as a rule are not intended for ovens hotter than 400 degrees.  If you’re sure your oven has been correctly calibrated, the roasting temperature for this dish is 395 degrees.  If you’re unsure, or know your oven tends to run on the hot side, you’ll be fine at 375 degrees, but add fifteen minutes to the cooking time.  The cooking bag has the added benefit of making clean-up a snap.  Just throw the damn thing away when you’re done. The original recipe also called for white rice, but we used brown rice because it’s healthier for you and has a delicious, nuttier flavor.  Use white rice if you want. Or, if you prefer to make the chicken with no rice, omit it and the celery, and use just 1/4 cup of chicken stock.

Ingredients
For the chicken
4-5 lb whole roasting chicken
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cups brown rice
1/2 cup celery, finely minced
4 cups chicken stock (like Swanson’s or Kitchen Basics)

Ingredient
For the spice rub
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
1/3 tsp white pepper
1/3 tsp cayenne pepper
1/3 tsp black pepper
1/3 tsp onion powder
1/3 dried thyme

The Recipe
Preheat your oven to 395 degrees.

Mix all the ingredients for the rice rub together and use a whisk to ensure all ingredients are evenly distributed.

Rinse the chicken under cold running water and pat dry.  Then, cover the chicken, all over, with the olive oil.  Sprinkle and rub in the spice rub all over into the bird, starting with the underside of the bird and ending with the front breast-side.

Place the oven bag in baking dish large enough so the edges of the bag do not hang over the edge of the dish.

Add the rice, celery and chicken stock to the bag, then put the chicken on top.  Close the bag as directed on the package and cut three 1/2 inch slits in the top of the bag.

Place the bird into the pre-heated oven and cook for one and a half hours.

After the time has elapsed, pull the dish from the oven and allow to rest 20 minutes.  Then, cut open the bag and vent for 5-10 minutes.

Remove the bird to a cutting board and cut into pieces, or simply cut into two halves if you’re dining for two. Serve the chicken with the rice on the side, or over the rice if you’re going for some presentation drama.