bbq chicken dinner

This week I wanted to do a simple, classic, American meal. After discovering the insanely low price of chicken leg quarters ($0.74 cents / lb.) I knew I had to work them into my menu. I bought a pack of three HUGE leg quarters, which was almost 4.5 lbs worth of chicken. The pack contained only three leg quarters but because of their tremendous size, I would say that this recipe will easily feed four (that's still more than 1 lb. of meat per person). If you need, you can split the chicken before cooking to make more pieces.

The price listed in the title of this post is not only for the BBQ chicken but also the Chili Roasted Broccoli and Rosemary Roasted Potatoes that I made to go with the chicken. The BBQ Chicken itself only cost $5.03 for the recipe and $1.26 per serving!




BBQ CHICKEN


Total Recipe cost: $5.03
Servings Per Recipe: 4
Cost per serving: $1.26
Prep time: 5 min. Cook time: 45 min. Total: 50 min.

INGREDIENTS		COST
4.40 lbs.	chicken leg quarters	$3.26
1 bottle	BBQ sauce	$1.56
2 Tbsp	olive oil	$0.21
TOTAL		$5.03

STEP 1: In a large skillet, heat 2 Tbsp of oil on medium/high heat. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Rinse and pat dry the chicken leg quarters. If you want to split the large quarters into smaller pieces, do so now. Using a sharp knife, split the leg quarter where the drumstick meets the thigh. You may need to use your hands to pull the joint apart before cutting with the knife.

STEP 2: Once the skillet is very hot (just below smoking), lay the leg quarters in the pan skin side down. You want to sear the chicken until the skin is golden brown and crispy. You do not need to sear the meat side (this may dry out the meat). Searing the skin gives it a great texture and helps hold in the moisture while cooking. I would only sear two of the leg quarters at a time because crowding the pan will cause it to loose too much heat and the skin will not crisp.



STEP 3: Place the seared chicken legs on a sheet pan, skin side up. Slather the legs with your favorite BBQ sauce. I like to line my pan with foil to make cleaning up easier. Place the pan in the oven to roast.

STEP 4: 20 minutes or so into cooking, give the legs another coat of BBQ sauce. Continue to cook until the internal temperature of the legs reaches 165 degrees. If you do not have a meat thermometer, you will need to cut one of the legs open to make sure it is cooked through. There should not be any pink left in the meat and the juices should all be clear.



STEP 5: Let the chicken sit for 5 minutes before serving to allow the juices to set. Get some wet naps or napkins because this is going to be a messy (but GOOD) one!

NOTE: Making all three recipes at once took me about one hour. This may not be a quick weeknight dinner but it is easy and really really tasty. This would be a perfect menu for Sunday evening or if you're having a special guest over for dinner.

To maximize efficiency when making all three recipes, start your potatoes first. While the potatoes are roasting, sear your chicken. The chicken can go in the oven with the potatoes on the bottom rack (potatoes on top). While they are both in the oven, prepare your broccoli. When the broccoli is ready to go in the oven the potatoes should be just about ready to come out. Then, the broccoli and chicken should be finished cooking at just about the same time! Now THAT is how you multi-task in the kitchen!