Roast Sticky Chicken-Rotisserie Style

I love this recipe and make it often. My only suggestion is to get a jar and mix up a lot of the seasonings at one time to keep in your cabinet. I changed the servings to 64 and the ingredents came up in cup and tablespoon amounts for easy mixing. Then when I make a chicken I have the "mix" at my fingertips. It takes 3 to 4 tablespoons of mix per chicken. I normally serve this "rubber chicken" style with lots of veggies so I have leftover chicken. The next day I make enchiladas with the leftovers. Then I boil the bones for tortilla soup. This gives 3 meals my family of 5 loves. Even my picky son eats these 3 meals. I normally make this in the crockpot for easy cooking, but the roasting it in the oven yeilds better results.

Wow! What a great "fix it and forget it" recipe! So moist, so tender, I cut it with my fork and barely had to chew it! My chicken was 4-1/2 pounds, so I found I only had to roast it about 3-1/2 hours, roasted to 170 degrees. I marinaded it in the spice rub the night before, using half the salt called for and a tad less pepper, and it suited our tastes perfectly. Overooking this, of course, would totally ruin it, so I would treat the directed roasting time only as a guide and use a meat thermometer if possible.

Wish I could give this one more than 5 stars. I followed the recipe as stated, exception of white pepper, did not miss it. I did leave in fridge overnight. And then I cooked for 4 1/2 hours. I also did not have a whole chicken, but had wings as I always do. I greased my roaster pan with little oil then laid layers of onions in my pan I laid my wings over my onions I roasted for three hours then I put my rack in my roaster pan and put my wings on the rack and cooked 1 1/2 hours more, this was the best chicken ever, can not wait to roast a whole bird. but it's good to know that chicken pieces work as well. My wings came out very juicy and moist. this is more than a 5 star chicken. YOU MUST TRY IT!!!!!!!.Update!!!! I cook this again using a whole bird and it was as great as my wings, very juicy and the skin was crispy. I did let it sit overnight and then on my lunch break at 12:30pm yesterday I went home and popped it in the oven. When I got home the house smelled so good and I still had and hour left to prepare my rice and fried cabbage. This time I also made pan gravy from the drippings. A Sunday meal on a Thursday with little effort. Yum Yum.

This is a GREAT chicken recipe. I'm sure most of it has to do with the baking technique, but the spice combination is great too. This chicken was falling off of the bones! I baked a 4 lb chicken for approximately 4.5 hours, and that was probably a bit too long. I followed the recipe, halving it as I was only baking one chicken. I did make some changes as follows: *Only used 1 tsp salt *Kept the onion powder and garlic powder amounts the same, didn't halve them. *I didn't have an onion to put in the cavity, but did have a bunch of green onions. I cut them in 3rds and stuffed them inside the chicken along with some minced garlic. *I brushed the chicken with melted butter prior to rubbing the spice mixture on (had some spice mixture left over). * I took four pats of butter (about 2T total) and shook them into the remaining spice mixture, completely covering them. I then put 2 pats under the skin of the chicken on top of the breast on each side. * I cut up potatoes and carrots and placed them in the bottom of the pan, placing the chicken on top when baking it. This turned out great. The skin was crisp, the meat was juicy and tender. The juices made an EXCELLENT gravy. Definitely a keeper!

YUMMERS!!! Hands down THE BEST chicken I have ever made and I have made alot of chicken in my day!!! I took the pan drippings while the chicken "rested" and added 1 can chicken broth and tablespoon of cornstarch (shaking the stock and cornstarch in a mason jar prior to adding to the drippings) and made a gravy...No need to add additional seasoning to the gravy...it was FANTABULOSO!!!! This recipe is definately one of my favorites! Will make again and again! UPDATE: My 10 year old son has asked me 3 times this week to make this "yummy" chicken (as he calls it)....he LOVES it and it's on the menu tonight!!! I will put it in at 2:00 and by the time we get home from Trick or Treating.... dinner will be done...I will put Yukon gold potatos and carrots in the roaster as well so all I will have to do is make the gravy!!! TIP: The last time I wrapped fresh corn on the cobb (breifly blanched buttered and seasoned) in foil and slow roasted it along with the chicken.....YUMMERS!

This was honestly the best whole chicken I have ever eaten. The seasoning went all the way through the meat. I doubled the seasoning recipe and then only used one chicken as I love lots of flavor. I lifted the skin and rubbed the seasoning directly onto the meat as well as on top of the skin. I cooked it on 250 like the recipe said until the internal temp reached about 175 then I turned it up to 350 to get the skin extra crispy until the chicken was done. This was a great recipe!

Absolutely fantastic!! The cooking time was right on in my oven (Maytag). The perfect blend of seasonings for rotisserie chicken. I considered brining the chickens for 24 hrs before placing the seasonings on them but I figured I better not do that because I want to rate it fairly. Much to my delight, the white meat was so juicy and tender I couldn't believe it! To save a step, I placed each rinsed and dried chicken in it's own gallon size zip lock baggie and then rubbed the seasonings on each chicken rather than rub seasonings on each chicken and then place each one in a separate baggie. We ate half of one chicken for dinner, the rest of that chicken is for sandwiches and the other chicken will be shredded for chicken tacos and chicken enchiladas this week. For the price of buying one scrawny rotisserie chicken at the grocery store, you get two great tasting plump and juicy chickens with this recipe. By the way, the house smelled devine while baking at such a low temp for 5 hours. I did not baste the chickens till right before serving. Thank you Sue for sharing!!

Great recipe! I only wish other members would make up their own recipe instead of revamping the whole thing in their reviews and then rating it. It is sooooooo annoying.

Sue, you have out done yourself with this recipe. Thank you so much for sharing. I was astounded by this. So simple and fabulous. no changes at all are needed for this recipe. Don't change it and rate it you don't care for it. The most amazing thing you can do with this recipe is when you finish eating, trust me there will be no left overs, make your own chicken stock. I put the chicken carcasses into my giant pot,(no need to pick at it) cover with water, add rough cut celery, carrots, lots of onion and a couple bay leaf. When I mix the spices for the rub, I mix an extra 1/2 and add to the pot of stock mix. Simmer on low a few hours till the bones are fairly clean, and strain until most of the ingredient "floaters" are removed. You will be left with a deep golden stock. Season with salt & pepper if needed, for the most flavorful home made stock you have ever had. It freezes well, I usually put 1C portions in a ziplok freezer bag to pull out for gravy's and sauces. Then I fill a large ziplok so there is enough to pull out as a base for home made soup. If I only make this recipe using one chicken, I make the stock in my slow cooker and leave it on low all night. It's a great two-fer recipe. You will taste the difference in all of your recipe's made with the stock. When it's gone...you have another excuse to make this recipe again!

Awesome recipe for restaurant style rotisserie chicken straight from your own oven! I cut the recipe in half for one 4 pound chicken and used 1/2 tsp. of regular paprika, 1/2 tsp. of smoked paprika and used 1/2 tsp. of garlic powder. I follwed the recipe instructions and then wrapped the chicken in plactic wrap and refridgerated it for 24 hours. I then baked it for 1 hour at 275 and then lowered the temp. to 250 and baked it for another 3 hours. This was so incredibly moist, tender, and delicious without a ton of effort - great recipe!

We followed the recipe exactly and the skin turned out very dry and tough. The meat was still moist but it did not remind me of rotisserie chicken. It was really just okay. Not bad but not amazing. I honestly think the 5 hour cooking time was just too long and that's why it ended up being so dry.

Wow! I just had to rate/review this one once again. I've discovered that the secret to this recipe is not in the ingredients but in the method of slow roasting. During the past 3 weeks, I've roasted chicken and turkey in various forms and with various seasonings, not adhering to the ones listed in this recipe. Each variation that I tried came out superb--perfection in whatever flavor I started with. Try it! Try this and then try any other marinades or seasonings that you like but use this slow roasting method and guage accordingly. It may take only about 2-2 1/2 hours for pieces. Thanks again, Sue, It's a great recipe and a great method.

This chicken is INCREDIBLE!! Absolutely fantastic, and so easy to do. Six people..two chickens..no leftovers! I rinsed and patted dry two 4 lb chickens. Got all of the seasonings measured out in a small bowl. No need to double the amount, it was plenty to cover both birds. I went lighter on the cayenne pepper only because I have not made this recipe before, and was serving this for my parents. I also included two large cracked cloves of fresh garlic and used only one onion. I slathered the chickens with a light rub of butter, massaged the seasonings all over the outside, sprinkled some seasoning and put the onion and cloves of garlic in each cavity, placed both birds in one 9X13 glass dish, covered with plastic wrap and put in the fridge the night before. The next morning, I put one of the chickens in its own 9X13 dish, let both pans rest on the counter for about a half hour to come to room temperature, then placed both pans in a preheated 250 degree oven. My birds hit 170 degrees in 4 hrs. It was the best roasted chicken I have ever cooked. Extremely moist and so flavorful. The house smelled out of this world as the chicken cooked. YOU MUST TRY THIS RECIPE! You will not be disappointed..my family loved it! And I will be sharing this with everyone I know :)

Followed this recipe as written (minus the white pepper because I didn't have any). I did take the hint of one review and used 2 generous pats of butter that were coated in the spices and then placed UNDER the skin on the chicken breasts. One stick of celery and two cloves of minced garlic were added with the onion. I wrapped it well, let it set over night in the fridge. I used one (7 lb) chicken, and it only took 4 hours to cook. My gosh!! BEST ROAST CHICKEN EVER! A TOTAL KEEPER! The chicken was so moist and tender and the house smelled wonderful. Thank you so much for this recipe!

Someone has played a cruel joke on everyone. If you roast this chicken for 5 hours like it calls for it turns out way over done and drier that the Sahara Desert. Start checking the temperature after about 3 hours and don't let it cook over the 180 degrees internal temperature.

I didn't make this with a whole chicken, but rather with about 5 lbs of chicken quarters. The only things I left out was the quartered onion & the cayenne. I placed them on a jelly roll pan for about 1.5 hours on 325. Came out tasting just like a rotisserie chicken!

Delicious recipe. I understand the desire (and sometimes need, for homemade), but after making this, I couldn't help but think the following: I just spent ~$3.00 on a chicken, whatever the oven bag cost, a fair amount prep time (not to mention the overnight refrigeration), put it in my (electric) oven for five hours (wondering how much energy THAT used), so I can have a chicken that tastes EXACTLY like one I can buy at the market two blocks away, already cooked in a rotisserie, any day of the week, for $3.99. Like I said, nothing against the recipe per se, it was yummy, just for me, logistically, it makes no sense.

After three perfect meals using this roast chicken recipe, I'm making it again today for the fourth time. It has become my family's favorite Sunday dinner. I rub the seasoning mixture between the skin and meat and add quartered lemons to the chicken cavities. Those two small changes are the only changes I make, except for taking the chickens out of the oven when they reach an internal temperature of 170 F. I serve this roast chicken with Green Bean Bundles (Mark Karnes recipe on this site is a good one), baked potatoes, garden salad, homemade rolls and the Old Fashioned Peach Cobbler (I use Eleta's cobbler recipe from this site).

I have used this on a turkey breast in a crock pot on low all day and it was amazing!!!

Wow - Wow and WOW! I've made whole chicken in the crockpot so many times and been disappointed at the results. I will never make chicken a different way again! This was absolutely perfect! I used one 6 lb. chicken and stuffed a quartered onion inside. I rubbed it with the spices and wrapped it tight with saran wrap. I let it sit in the refrigerator for about 2 hours and then slow roasted it in a pan in a 250 degree oven for 2 1/2 hours. For the last 45 minutes I turned the heat up to 350 to make the skin crispy. It was so fantastic!

Delicious! We took the advise of many and cut the salt to half but will need to reduce it more still - was very salty but the other seasonings made this very tasty - all we changed was the salt (oh and put some minced garlic in with the onion). I used bigger chickens and they didn't cook evenly in my pan because they were snug so we'll have to handle that differently next time if I decide to use bigger chickens again, but that has nothing to do with the recipe - the recipe is fantastic and we will make this again!

We LOVE LOVE LOVE this recipe! Perfect just the way it is! All the spices made the gravy a tasty tasty treat! (Hint: melt half stick butter in a pan add flour to thicken - then add pan juices & chicken stock - no lumps!) YUM YUM YUM! Thank you!

Pretty dang good! I would reduce the salt and cayenne pepper. Try it!

This is the *only* way I make roast chicken now! I use it so much that I now make a quadruple batch of the spices and store them in a jar (note: equals 5 T. of spice mixture) for the next time I make it! I don't marinate beforehand, and I've noted that fresh chicken tends to be less dry than a thawed, previously frozen chicken. (Tip: Save the bones and make your own chicken stock in the slow-cooker! The spices make the chicken stock more flavorful.)

Favorful and Moist! I used 4 frozen chicken breasts, seasoned one side, placed in crockpot with 1/2 cup of chicken broth and cooked on high 2 hours, flipped chicken and seasoned again, cooked on low 2 more hours. Picky 12 year old loved this (I did cut back on the cayenne). ***UPDATE- I did make this recipe exactly as stated and my family LOVED it! It was so flavorful and moist..will definitely make again and again! Next time I am putting the chicken in the crockpot instead of heating up the house for 5 hours.

The whole family loves this one! My teenage sons ask for it all the time. Whenever chickens go on sale I buy as many as can fit in my fridge and I prepare them as instructed before cooking and stick in a ziplock bag and freeze them. I thaw one in the fridge about a day or two before cooking and dinner is a breeze!

Due to time constraints, had to adjust the cooking time but it still turned out great. Cooked it uncovered at 500 degrees for 20 minutes and at 325 degrees for about one hour. Chicken was perfectly cooked, tender and extremely juicy. Everybody loved it including my 4 year old daughter who didn't want to try it at first but kept asking for more.

I'll be honest...I've tried many top-rated recipes on here and been sorely disappointed, wondering, "what are these people thinking?" But this one is so worth its high marks! I am not generally a fan of roasted chicken -- too many bland, boring, rubbery, greasy or dried out experiences. This chicken, however, was tender, flavorful and aromatic. The only things I changed were to add extra seasoning under the skin of the breast, rub a smidge of olive oil on the skin prior to cooking, and most importantly, I followed Bittman's and Joy of Cooking info in that Salmonella is killed at 160 degrees, so cooking chicken in the oven to 180 is overkill. I roasted until the inner thigh read 170 and the breast 165, then let it sit 10 minutes to let the temp rise with carryover heating. PERFECT. I suspect those who ended up with a dried out chicken used the five hours listed in the recipe rather than cooking using a thermometer. My 4.5 lb chicken only took 4 hours to cook. I also wonder how many have the usual oven overheat. I keep a thermometer in my oven, and had to change the temp a few times as it kept trying to sneak up considerably past 250. Personally, I will be forwarding this recipe on to friends and family. Yummy!

Being less than crazy about chicken because I find it to be basically boring and dry, I was happily surprised with this recipe! I cooked a 5.5 lb chicken this way and it was so juicy!! The onions inside the chicken act as a steam as they contain so much water which is one of the reasons why it is so juicy and tender. The flavors were wonderful with a great mix of spices that you can tailor to your own liking (IE; more salty, less salty) I did cook mine for the first 3 hours BREAST SIDE DOWN, this helps to keep the breast meat juicy as the juices settle downward. After the 3 hrs I turned it over for the last 2 hrs. I have been looking for a good chicken recipe and usually use another one from this site "Juicy roasted chicken" but it calls for a lot of butter and the seasoning was not as flavorful. This will now be my go to recipe for tender juicy roasted chicken. Thanks so much for sharing this, it is easy and super delicious. Also it is nice to make on a cold day as the oven in on for a while.. just perfect all around.

I made this in my Crock-Pot. Use 3 balls of crumpled up aluminum foil to elevate the chicken out of its juices. DO NOT add any liquid to the Crock-Pot. Cook on high 1 hour, then low 6-10 hours. The chicken turned out nice and moist, but I wasn't too keen on the flavor - next time I think I'll leave out the paprika, thyme, white pepper, and add some Cajun seasoning instead.

Actually, I just had a question to verify the cooking of the chicken. When stated to 'Bake uncovered'; I am assuming that is unwrapped (no cooking bags) and no lid. . . ??? Thank you for your input.

I don't know why some reviewers are annoyed that others give their own suggestions and modifications for a recipe. This is the part I like the best - reading others suggestions for making it even better.

This was awesome! I only had 1 chicken, but I made the whole spice mix and just SLATHERED my cihcken, even coated the onions before I stuffed them up the bird's wazzoo! I only had a few hours to let it marinate, and it still came out awesome! I can't wait to let it soak overnight. My three year old and I were fighting over the last leg (I won)and the gravy made even INSTANT mashed potatoes taste awesome! This is my new (and only) roasted chicken recipe! (Going to try the "rub" on my Thanksgiving turkey, too!)

To the previous reviewer who gave one star: Ummm, maybe you should just go buy a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store...no effort at all then. This was a great recipe...and I enjoy knowing what spices went into the rub. Will make again and again

Love it! I use it all the time.

I thought this was awesome!! Very flavorful and moist! I will be making this again! And I am going to make chicken soup with the leftovers. I think with the spices and all it wil be awesome!

Three cheers to Sue for an excellent, simple recipe! I'm not sure why we need to roast two at a time, but it divides in half well enough. Like another reviewer said, I also filled a shaker with the spice mix. That mix is now my house seasoning and I use it on most anything. I did eliminate the white pepper and substituted that with black pepper (making the total 1 1/2 tsp black pepper). I'm not sure about the logic for using both. It's usually one or the other, but not both. Also, I have trouble finding small 4 lb. chickens. I live in an area without much competition so I have to take what I can get, but even if it's a 5-6 lb chicken, this recipe works just as well. One IMPORTANT thing worth noting is that it is often ready much earlier than 5 hours. Begin checking it after 4 hours. Sooner if you have a small bird. Anyway, I am glad that she posted this. Again, many thanks Sue!

This was so incredibly juicy, tasty and yes...nicely sticky (secret is to baste every so often the last hour and half to 2 hours!) I used an 8lb roaster (it took 6 hours and was well worth the wait) and took the suggestion of other reviewers and cut the salt to 2tsp. (kept everything else the same).I mixed all seasonings together in an empty spice jar then rubbed a light coating of olive oil before adding the rub so the spices would stick better. I put some of the rub under the skin also! I put the chicken in a 2gallon ziplock and marinated overnight (15hours--the longer the better). I also used the suggestion of another reviewer to roast the chicken breast side down for the first half of the cooking time and then flip it over for rest of the cooking time (I believe this flipping helped w the color and kept it juicy). The color of the chicken was beautiful and the skin tasted amazing. Made a fabulous gravy from the juices mixing it w a little flour mixed with water to thicken. Absolutely a keeper. Thanks for sharing!

We make this all the time. Always put an onion in the cavity, and I always lay fat, uncut carrots & celery underneath the chickens as if they are a "rack" holding it up. They taste amazing! Also, we usually eat 1 chicken and use the other to make the most amazing chicken soup ever! If you tear off all the chicken, and boil the chicken carcass for at least an hour will the skin etc it will make the best chicken stock! Use the juice from underneath the chicken as well but drain off excess fat (by putting in fridge overnight). Best soup ever!

WOW! This was the absolute best roasted chicken I have ever had in my life. I followed the recipe exactly with the exception of splashing in a little bit of Marsala wine at the beginning when I freaked out over the lack of juices coming out of the chicken. After about 2 and a half hours, those juices DO finally come pouring out, so don't be alarmed like I was!! This chicken doesn't even need a gravy, but the pan gravy that came out of this was excellent as well! I'd give it 10 stars if I could! *** It has been some time since I last reviewed this and I've made this recipe at least twice a month since then. I just wanted to add that I've noticed there IS a profound difference between using a fresh from the store chicken and one that I've had in my freezer for any length of time. A fresh-from-the-store chicken yields more natural juices and much more tender, juicy meat!

Fabulous! I baked both chickens in one turkey size oven bag with terrific results.

This is one of my favorite recipes! I have made it several times and it is consistently amazing. My husband and I love it and I love making it, as I can use the leftovers for other dishes throughout the week. The flavor and juiciness is quite impressive considering how simple it is.

I have made many roast chicken recipes with great results, and this is one of the greatest! The seasonings were perfect, the results were tender and juicy. I also recommend basting like other reviews said, to keep the chicken moist and to help in the browning process. My whole family loved this. Definately a keeper!

Love the seasoning! I always make 3-4 times the quantity of spice mix so it's always ready. Then, whenever I want to roast chicken, I use at least 1 Tb + 2-1/4 tsp per chicken (which is 1/2 of recipe's 3-1/2 Tblsp for 2 chickens!) ... but really I like more than that. I do rub some under the skin to flavor the meat. I always make a delicious gravy with the de-fatted drippings: Make a roux, add chicken broth &/or milk, season with pepper & thyme. I have yet to try out the 5 hrs. of roasting method because it is done at around 3-1/4 or so hrs. When pressed for time, I have also used regular roasting temp & time successfully.

Ok this is great. I actually have a rotisserie that I use all the time. I made it the same way that you would normally do in the oven and it was amazing. The flavor is wonderful and the chicken is extrememly moist. With the slow cooking time it just brings out the flavor. Thank you for posting...definately a keeper.

We loved this recipe and will definitely be using it again. We found that if you want to used the drippings for gravy add 1/2 cup of water to the pan. We also continually basted the chicken. Love this recipe...Definitely will use it again.

This is a fantastic recipe and a regular for roast chicken in our house. Only things I do differently is to make a paste of butter and the seasonings and stuff this under the skin of the breasts. I also wrap and marinate it overnight after rubbing the outer skin with the seasoning. I suggest to remove the chicken at about 155-160 degrees, heat the oven to 375, and put the chicken back in the oven. Pour a little water into the bottom of the pan before putting back into the oven and the high heat will help the steam brown and crisp the skin. Remove at 170 degrees and let the bird rest. Delicious!

BY MOMSAVEDBYGRACE: 7+ lb. roaster instead of the 2 smaller ones. For the spices, I eliminated white pepper (who has that?) and cut the cayenne and paprika in half, and increased the garlic powder to a full teaspoon. Even doing that there is still plenty of kick in the spice mix. Like another reviewer I added a couple Tbsps. of minced garlic to the onions in the cavity. By BLACKMP: I changed the servings to 64 and the ingredents came up in cup and tablespoon amounts for easy mixing. Then when I make a chicken I have the "mix" at my fingertips. It takes 3 to 4 tablespoons of mix per chicken.

Hi! For those wishing "sticky" chicken, you have to stick around and baste the bird with pan drippings late in the roasting process--something I never have time to do. If you do, however, you'll get truly sticky chicken.

After reading everyone's reviews I was really excited about trying this. Most people said that it was great; however, there were a few who said it wasn't. I was hoping to get rostisserie chicken that tasted like Boston Market's Chicken. The chicken was good. However, I think the disconnect comes in because there are some people who know how to roast a chicken and others who have never done it before. So here's my take...if you have roasted a chicken before and you like your roasted chicken, this chicken doesn't taste much different. I make a roasted chicken every Christmas using only pepper, seasoned salt, green peppers and onions, and it is great. Therefore, this recipe was good, but it didn't taste like anything that I hadn't already done before with less spices. On the other hand, if you have never roasted a whole chicken, then this the recipe for you. By the way, I gave my mom some of the rub to put on salmon, and she said that it was very good. With that being said, she pointed out that her blood preesure rose after eating it because it had so much salt in it. I would definitely recommend halfing the salt. (She measured her pressure before and after the meal because her doctors have been concerned with her pressure lately). A few other tips, you should definitely work olive oil over the chicken with your hands before using the rub. Lastly, baste this chicken several times throughout the process.

I actually made this in my rotisserie. Here a suggestion double the spices, rub the spices under the skin and on top. Then rub with olive oil. Extra crispy skin and flavorful moist meat.

UPDATE: 28, Dec. '11 I finally tried the actual chicken with this fantastic rub. The chicken has wonderful flavor. It was so moist and browned perfectly. I use the rub on all sorts of meats, but had not gotten around to trying it with a whole chicken. I think the cavity stuffed with onion also added a lot of flavor. REVIEW: 01, Feb. '11 My review is based on the rub only. WONDERFUL rub! I made up a big batch (32 servings) of the rub so I had it on hand and ready. Another AR reader suggested I use this on my beef roast for great flavoring. It was fantastic and gave the meat a great seasoning. I only marinated the roast for about 2 1/2 hours, but the flavor came through loud and clear. Can't wait to try it on chicken next week. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

this recipe yields some seriously good chicken. I cooked mine for 5 hours at 250 and only had an internal temp of about 140 according to my thermometer (bizarre...) so I upped the oven to 350 and put it back in for about 45 minutes to reach the 180 temp (always concerned about food safety!). however, this method, for me, produced totally inedible vegetables, when roasted alongside. I don't think potatoes or carrots are meant to be roasted for 5+ hours and still be expected to remotely resemble their original form. mine were super dry and shrunken as my chicken produced little juice. I theorize that this is because the chicken is cooked at such a low heat that the juice stays inside (making a very moist bird!) and doesn't leak out and keep the veggies moist. while we ate and enjoyed the chicken, we had to scrounge for a suitable side dish, after wasting precious mashed potato ingredients and finally pitching the veggies. so take note and watch your veggies carefully or better yet, just cook them separately! thanks for sharing your recipe, I'll make this again.

This is really good. I used smoked paprika instead of regular and black pepper since I had no white pepper. We don't like dark meat, so I used 2 large bone-in chicken breasts cooked for about 2 1/2 hours. The meat is very tender and amazingly juicy. Next time I'll cut back on the thyme a bit as that seems to be a bit overpowering. An overnight marinade seems to flavor the meat nicely, too. UPDATE: I'm upping my rating. I cut way back on the thyme and adjusted the rest of the spices slightly to our tastes, still using smoked paprika. This makes the most wonderful chicken breasts (natural chicken please with nothing added), and I will never buy rotisserie chicken again. I keep a shaker full of this stuff at the ready when I bring the chicken home! UPDATE 01/30/10: I used this rub on a 4 lb fresh split turkey breast. I left to marinate for 12 hours and baked for 30 minutes on 325 then decreased the heat to 250 and cooked for about another 2 1/2 to 3 hours. The rub doesn't flavor the entire breast, certainly, but the meat is so tender and juicy it is still worth it. Next time I may try injecting the breast--the cooking method is a keeper for me!

What a delicious entree. I got a whole chicken on sale and tried this recipe out. I didn't have white pepper on hand so I substituted seasoned pepper instead. Then after patting the chicken dry I rubbed room temprature butter on the bird (to help make the spices stick) before sprinkling the spices all over it. Next I added a medium chopped onion and 4 large garlic cloves to the cavity before saran wrapping and refrigerating overnight. Finally I cooked the chicken breast side down...there is no way you will get dry chicken using this recipe. The blend of ingredients is perfect for 1 large bird.

Fall-off-the-bone GOOD! I actually used chicken quarters rather than a whole chicken. I put sliced onions on the bottom off a baking dish, placed the marinated chicken quarters on top of the onions and baked it at 350 degrees for 2 hours. It was the best chicken I had ever made. I think I'll make it tomorrow!

Not that this recipe needs any more accolades, but man, this stuff is good! It isn't "sticky" & who cares? My only complaint is that I couldn't walk through the house without my stomach screaming, Is it time to EAT?!?!?! This recipe made me look like a rock star & I didn't have to do anything except throw it in the oven & go read a book until it was done. Doesn't get better than that:o)

Delicious chicken! The meat was tender and moist, the skin was crispy and flavorful. Absolutely great recipe. Two things; when I took the chicken out of the bag, I was concerned about where the rub had been removed by the plastic so I mixed up more of the seasoning to cover the spots, and I regret that decision as it ended up being too spicy in those places. Second, be sure to use a roasting rack; I used a short one and the juice/fat that leaked from the chicken was almost up to the birds.

This was great! I made only one chicken, and didn't have 5 hours to bake it, so I cooked it at 275F for 4 hours, then let it sit the 10 minutes before carving. It was moist, tender and juicy. I cooked it on a rack and basted it with the drippings about 3 times during baking. This turned out much better than my usual roast chicken recipe. Thanks!

Had a great flavor but a little too salty. I would cut it down to 2t. Other than that this is really good! Chicken is sooooooo tender!

Excellent recipe. Did not take 5 hours to reach 180, only 3.5, so watch carefully. Next time I will mix spices and put in an old shaker to sprinkle on chicken easier. No changes to recipe though..was wonderful!

This was great! I didn't use cayenne pepper or paprika, not a big fan of spicy. I used a 7lb chicken instead of 2 chickens. I even found white pepper! But don't think I needed it, and won't use it next time. I researched what the difference between white pepper and black pepper was, and it was basically visual. White pepper is used for sauces and other dishes that you want to stay clear. The family liked this chicken and I did too! I made this with roasted red potatoes from a recipe on this site and white rice. I was so proud of myself, made a lovely dinner for my family. Thanks so much!

*This gets an extra star! Yum, Yum! This was the best roasted chicken I had ever eaten. I used a packet of Lipton Garlic Soup mix inside and out, plus quartered an onion- leaving the skin on- and stuffed it into the cavity. We had someplace to go the next day after placing it in the oven so I turned the oven down a couple of hours early. No matter. The heavenly smell that greeted us at the door reassured me! I prepared the rest of my meal while it "rested" and frequently spooned the juices over the top of the crackly brown, well-seasoned skin. I sure got the kudos on this one! This is THE only way to do a roasted chicken from here on out!!

You have to try this recipe! I only made one 4lb. chicken - and it tasted AWESOME & JUICY! I didn't have time to let it sit marinating in the frige overnight, just for a few hours in the morning and it came out so great! You can tweak the seasonings to taste (I didn't put the ceyenne), I wound up using Italian Seasoning since it pretty much had a combo of all the herbs in addition to the other seasonings. Patted LOTS of margarine and seasonings under the skin, put an onion and minced garlic in the cavity. Also, put 1/4c. chicken stock and 1/4c. white wine plus minced garlic and chopped onion to the roasting pan... and it carmelized nicely - the gravy was great! Served it with some garlic cheese potatoes and rice. I've tried a gajillion different ways to make roasted chicken and this is THE ONE! Easy and fun, you can't mess it up!

As advertised this is a great recipe. You have to plan ahead but the end result is wonderful.

Loved this! We had one chicken that was cut up already. Cut the recipe in half, baked for 4 hours. Delicious! I am going to try this on skinless, boneless breasts soon as I think this will be good to take to work for my low carb diet lunch. My pickiest child gave his thumbs up; quite the compliment! *Update: Have made this numerous times, remembering to marinate overnight, sometimes not, using whole chickens, chicken parts, etc.; no matter....it always turns out delicious!

I have to agree with another reviewer...the texture of the chicken wasn't very appealing. My family ate it but no one ate the leftovers, telling me that it was just an OK dish. I think next time I will coat the chicken with oil and bake the chicken at a high temperature (450) for 10-15 minutes first to sear the outside, then bake it at the lower temperature.

made this with a few minor spice tweeks, and one thing you definitely have to do is TENT THE PAN WITH TINFOIL TIGHTLY!! and cut the baking time a bit. our chicken was fall off the bone good and VERY moist! your chicken will brown in the tinfoil. mine did!

OMG, so fall-off-the-bone delicious, but definitely not sticky. Lol! We're watching our salt intake, so I didn't add any at all ~ I added some Simply Organic Garlic and Herb Seasoning in it's place, sat back and prayed, and was pleasantly rewarded by the results! Great recipe, Sue, and thanks for sharing!

Okay, I have been making this recipe for YEARS. The only change I made is that I misread the original recipe as TABLESPOONS and not TEASPOONS. When I realized my mistake (after making it several times), I made the recipe correctly. My husband said to go back to my mistake. So, I make this using TABLESPOONS. Because it's a rub, it works.

Fantastic. DH loved it. Got the chickens on a sale and used the second one for all sorts of things from chicken salad to the Best Easy Chicken Croquettes recipe also on this site. Will definitely make these again come sale time.

Can't beleive this got so many rave reviews. I worked in resturants where we cook rostisserie chicken and they never were cook for more than 45 min. 5 hours of cooking just dried out the poor thing and it is way too salty. Oh well, i guess every one has dif taste buds. It you really want it resturant style do not use a 4 pound bird. We use much smaller birds in resturants. and cook faster aand higher.

This was excellent - it was a great combination of seasonings. I would imagine you can use this slow cooking method for any seasoning combo. My one caveat is to be careful about the 5 hour timing. The chicken I just roasted was 5.5 lbs and luckily I checked it at 4 1/2 hrs, because it was more than done (but fortunately not dried out yet). Depending on how "fast" your oven is, it would be good to start checking the internal temperature earlier than 5 hours. I will definitely make this recipe again.

This chicken was fantastic! I left out the cayenne since I didn't have any, but this was "peppery" enough without it. I used a roaster that holds the chicken upright in the oven so the skin stays crispy on all sides. I basted it occassionally, and the result was a moist chicken that tasted fantastic. Served with yukon gold potatoes with sauteed onions and a salad, and we were in HEAVEN!! Thank you Sue. This one is a definite keeper.

This chicken was absolutely delicious. I mainly used the cooking method and changed the spice rub a bit. I used lots of garlic powder, salt, pepper, chili powder for the rub. I quartered an onion and placed the chunks inside the cavity of the chicken along with 3 smashed garlic cloves, and a chopped carrot. My 4 pound chicken cooked in 4.5 hours. It was golden and somewhat sticky (as promised) We are usually lovers of only dark meat, however the breast meat was SO juicy we were converted! Great recipe! Thanks for sharing.

I followed the directions EXACTLY and I have to say the seasoning was only on the skin. The meat of the chicken had no flavour in it at all. I even did as another reviewer suggested and put the spice mixture into a small bottle with a shaker top. **********UPDATE**********: I made this again, and I buttered the chicken A LOT before I sprinkled the spice mixture onto it. I also BASTED the chicken throughout the cooking process and this time it was certainly delicious and worthy of 5*'s!!!

I made this exactly as written except for the tempature.I have never roasted that low and was reluctant.I roasted it much higher then turned it lower.I also put some rub under the skin as well.It was the best chicken ever.Usually mine are blah and nothing special.Toward the end I added onion,carrots and potatoe that roasted wonerfully as well! Special note since originally posted I used a pinch of salt as my Doctor requested lowering my salt.With so many spices it's perfect.

Best chicken ever!!! For Christmas I tried something different and placed 2 oranges and fresh rosemary springs inside, thin orange slices under the skin, sprinkled it with rosemary and then squeezed orange juice over the top just before placing it in the oven. It was a huge hit and my mom couldn't get the recipe fast enough. I also love it the original way it's listed.

I was so excited to try this recipe because I love rotisserie chicken. People comment that this is better than store bought however, this was not the case for me. I didn't cook the chicken as long as recommended because it met the internal temp. requirements after almost 3 hours and I didn't want it to dry out. The outside of the chicken wasn't that deep, dark color you see from a store/restaurant bought rostisserie chicken and if I didn't have a thermometer, I would have guessed the chicken was not done based on the appearance of the outside. Although the seasonings were good, they didn't seep into the meat and only flavored the outter parts of the chicken. I'm glad I tried this recipe and was able to use the chicken in other recipes, it just didn't meet my expectations for a rotisserie chicken.

This is a really great recipe and I would recommend making it, you won't be dissapointed!

I was wondering if the spices would make the chicken spicy hot rather than rotisserie style. I was pleasantly surprised how the flavors all blended to make it taste store-bought! I made this for a fancy dinner and liked the fact that I had plenty of time to work on other dishes while this roasted.

PERFECT.. THIS DESERVES 10 STARS! i didnt have thyme or onion powder but added about 1 tbsp poultry seasoning.. also doubled garlic powder and cayenne pepper.. I do think its worth all the time, because the meat falls off the bone! yummy!

Terrific! I didn't use a whole chicken, just bone in pieces with skin on. Didn't change the recipe except to add a little more garlic and pepper to suit our taste. Cut up the onion and tossed it in the ziploc bag. I did marinate overnight and glad I did. You won't be sorry with this. Tastes better than the store and much cheaper too!

Absolutely fantastic. I made one batch of this precisely to recipe, but I took it out at just over 170. I did another half batch and cut the salt according to some of the reviewers, and this batch I did in the slow cooker. I strongly preferred it with more salt, and even though the meat was fantastic from the slow cooker, the skin didn't have a chance to get crisp. (I actually took it out of the crock pot and put it in the oven for a few minutes at a really high temp just to get the skin a bit more crispy. Worked well, but again, really preferred the to-recipe flavor best.) I didn't baste, brine, add butter -- nothing. And the meat fell off the bone. Fantastic! I had never roasted a chicken in my life and made this for a potluck. Risky! It flew off the table, and everyone loved it!! Have made a huge amount of the spice mix to use it whenever we're in the mood. Right now, I'm trying it just with drumsticks -- my picky kids (ages 5, 3, and 1) loved it!

OMGoodness! I thought I made a great roasted chicken until I tried this. I followed the recipe exactly but added half a lemon inside each cavity with the onion. This is amazing.

Ah, this is sooo good! I always start the day before & add a few garlic cloves & sliced lemon to the onion in the chicken cavity. Great in the oven or on the bbq using one of those "beer-butt chicken" racks. So tasty & juicy!

Made this last week and making it again this week. This will be a weekly make for my family since they love it and it is so easy to make!!! I followed the recipe to the T with only 1 minor add on. I added 3 tablespoons of dice garlic as some other user suggested in the cavity of the chicken. I ended up marinating for over 24 hours as one user suggested. The house smelled simply delicious while the chicken was slow cooking in the oven for 5 hours. I will say hands down that this seasoning mix will be one I will use time and time again. I plan to make a bunch of the seasoning to have on hand as another user suggested.

I made this again using cut up chicken pieces. I patted the chicken dry with paper towels,put the spices in a plastic bag, added the chicken all at once and shook like heck. Cooked at 350 bottom side up for 30 minutes on baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray then turned and cooked another 25 minutes. It was amazing!!!!!!!!! And just a great reheated for leftovers!

This is a kid favorite in our house! I made it exactly as directed the first time, but since then I leave out the cayenne as it makes it too spicy for the kids. Other than that, perfect! I have made it without leaving it in the fridge overnight too, with great results. I served with roasted potatoes and broccoli as those are favorites in our house too. And we throw all the bones and carcass into the crockpot to make overnight chicken broth!

I thought I had messed myself up when I realized I had bought bone in, skin on, split chicken breasts instead of two whole chickens. I decided to give it a try anyways and besides having to omit the onions followed the recipe closely. They only took me about 3hrs at 250 to cook and were EXCELLENT. The skin was crispy and they were so juicy that it actually spurted out a little when I cut into it. I cut up the meat to use later in other recipes.

I have made this chicken many times and it has always come out very tasty and tender. I only do one chicken at a time, but I make and use the entire recipe of rub. Other than that the only difference I make is that about an hour into cook time I pour melted butter over the bird, and then halfway though the cooking time I flip it and do the same to the other side. Amazing results every time.

This was truly awesome-great, easy, very yummie!! Thanks for posting!

This recipe is excellent! After 35 years of roasting chickens, this is by far my favorite recipe. I have made it twice and have had great reviews and raves from family and friends. Like other reviewers, I did not slow roast but put the chickens in at 325 for two hours. (I did apply the rub to the chickens, stuffed them with the onions and refrigerated them in ziploc bags for 6 hours prior to baking). When baked, the meat fell off of the bones and was very moist. One of these days I will try the slow-roast method. This is a great and easy dish to serve to guests.

On this recipe I am rating the prep and seasoning, as I cooked the bird in the little rotisserie/oven that I have. Followed beginning step by step and it turned out wonderfully. I deep fry turkeys all the time and this is how I prepare them for an overnight seasoning. After bird is patted dry, I take a kitchen garbage bag, open all the way so it is laying flat on the counter, set the bird inside and season. Then take the bag, wrap tightly around the bird, push as much air out as possible, twist the top and seal with a twisty. Cut off excess bag and re-fridge. I have always prepared my birds this way as it makes clean up a breeze.

This was amazing. Very tender and juicy. It did not taste like onions, which i was worried that they might overpower the flavor, but it was wonderful. I did use a entire tbs of galic powder and marinated it for 12 hours, I also used 2 whole chickens, I might try the boneless breasts next as a different review said they were yummy. As stated the chicken is fall off the bone. Next time i will double the chicken rub for extra flavor. a keeper for sure.

excellent blend of spices. I keep the mixture pre-made in my cupboard.

I originally found this recipe on another website, but this is same and it's the BEST roast chicken recipe. I just multiply the spices by 1 1/2 so there are plenty to rub on the chicken. And, I cut down on the cayenne and black pepper so the kids will be more willing to eat it (too spicy otherwise). This is so juicy and flavorful my family would choose this recipe for roast chicken almost every time (our next favorite is chef Thomas Keller's 'Simple Roast Chicken' on epicurious.com). It's also very easy and makes your house smell wonderful all day.

I made 3 of these today. Very yummy. I did two in the oven and 1 in the crock pot. I must say, they didn't need 5 hours in the oven. They were done in about 3 1/2 - 4 hours. The one in the crock pot cooked on low for about 6 hours. The smell of these chickens roasting in amazing. I made the spice mix as directed. It is very good, indeed and not too much kick at all. Thanks for a good recipe.

I just made this Chicken for Dinner and everybody loved it. The chicken was so moist, tender and flavorful. I used the pan drippings to make gravy. DELICIOUS ! ! ! !