A whole cut up chicken, or bone-in leg quarters, cut up, baked with simple seasonings and the trinity. Pass under the broiler to brown further, as above.
Southern-Style Baked Chicken
I love a good baked chicken and though I have a few different recipes that I've used over the years, this is one of my favorite ways to make it.
We often find whole chickens, as well as family-sized packages of thighs and legs, or large block frozen bags of leg quarters on sale around here, so that's what I usually use for this dish. You can certainly use breasts, and even wings, though you'll need to adjust times accordingly, depending on size, so as not to overcook, especially with the boneless breasts.
Baked chicken is certainly not unique to the South, of course, but there is a certain way that we prepare it that makes it a little more unique to our region - just chicken, simply seasoned and baked with a scattering of the trinity, the way we love it in the South.
Some people prefer to bake chicken uncovered, in an open casserole, because they prefer it browned, rather than pale, but I have found that while prettier looking, open baking will often give a very dried out result.
My preference is to bake it covered. Covering it seems to retain much more of the moisture, giving a very tender and flavorful result, though I do give it a little uncovered time at the end. For further browning, you can pass it under the broiler, though I don't bother most times.
Here's how to make my southern-style baked chicken, and as always, you'll find the full recipe text with an ingredient list, measurements, full instructions and a printable document a little further down the page. Just swipe or scroll past the step by step pictures.
Place chicken in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish, skin side down. Brush with the butter and/or oil (I like a mixture) then season generously, turn and repeat. This is where I vary what I use - sometimes simply salt with lots of freshly cracked black pepper or lemon pepper, or just some Jane's Krazy Mixed Up Salt {affil link} with a little onion and garlic powder. Sometimes it's just some Lawry's {affil link} and other times Cajun seasoning {affil link} with lots of lemon pepper. In other words, use your favorite seasonings!
Toss the onion, celery and bell pepper on top, cover tightly and let rest a minimum of 30 minutes, or refrigerate overnight. If refrigerated, let come to room temperature 30 minutes, before cooking. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake chicken, covered, for 1-1/2 hours; remove, uncover, and continue baking, uncovered, for about 20 to 30 minutes longer, depending on size of pieces, or until fully cooked through. Pass under the broiler if you prefer additional browning, as in the header photo above, however, I rarely do this. Roll chicken in the drippings before transferring to a platter to serve.
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