This chicken was super! I did not change much, just made a few alterations. I added an extra clove of garlic, let it sit in the fridge for about 2 hours after I rubbed it down so it could marinate a little & also added a little bit of cilantro to the lemon/soda can. Chicken turned out super moist & very, very tasty. Will totally make again! ***REVISION FROM 2/2009*** In response to the slightly obnoxious post below; I only had Sprite in a 2 liter, so pulled a can out of my recycle bin (which would apparently be a Diet Pepsi can), washed it out and threw the sprite in there. Sorry I didn't clarify before, but I didn't stop to think that people would 1) stare so hard and scrutinze a pic of roasted chicken and 2) actually feel the need to call someone out on a cooking website about it. Hope that clears things up for anyone who was confused!
This is such a versatile recipe in that you can use multiple liquids to enhance the flavor. I have used various sodas, beer, fruit juices, and broths. The trick is the can- it is the stand. So if you want a more savory chicken use beers, for a sweeter chicken use juices and citrus sodas (mountain dew works well) and for less complex though flavorful chicken use broths. The super tiny juice cans work great for Cornish Hens.
I used this recipe because I thought it was neat that you could roast it in the oven, it was winter at the time, and I had only had it on the grill made by my mother up until that point. It turned out awesome. I usually eyeball my ingredients, but what I had done differently, was I added a lemon juice (from a whole lemon) to the soda I used (I think ginger ale) to the can that it roasted on, and I rubbed the other stuff underneath the skin. Either way, it was a great recipe, and I'm going to use it as a base for tonight, although I'm going to use actual beer.
I have made this recipe and used the brown sugar/butter/garlic/lemon rub even on turkey--INCREDIBLE. The color of the skin-looks like a magazine cover-tastes great. It kills me because I have always had the willpower until now not to eat the skin!
I have made this many times. I use larger chickens so oven temperature is 350 and 20 minutes per pound. I have used different types of soda-both diet and regular and it doesn't make a difference. I usually use ginger ale, but have used coke, orange soda and beer and the results are always the same--outstanding!
Here are some suggestions that I have done that my family likes. I use the "Citurs Brine" found on this site. I add garlic and onion to the soda can and stuff the cavity of the chicken with fresh herbs and additional garlic. I also like to put vegetables like celery, carrots, and fennel on the bottom of the pan and add either chicken broth or water--so I can make homemade gravy out of the drippings.
This chicken was bland at best even when eaten with the skin. The meat came out moist so luckily we can use the leftover meat for other applications.
This turned out great, but I did add a bunch of other seasonings & I used Sprite Zero. Will definitely make this again and again.
This wasn't very good. I tried it with root beer. It is really a lot better with a good rub and a half can of beer. IMHO
The chicken tastes so juicy.. I love the crispy skin...worth the effort if you have the time
