“Don’t fear dying, fear not having lived.” Old Mexican saying
Signs of the summer’s death are all around us with the falling leaves, bare flower stalks and the decent of the rains. Our thoughts turn from the fertile garden beds, inwards towards the hearth. It seems like a fitting time to celebrate the dead.
Day of the Dead or “el Dia de los Muertos” is celebrated throughout Mexico roughly the weekend after Halloween. The week before this event, Mexico transforms. Suddenly the fresh flower stalls on the street are awash with marigolds, windows are dressed in brightly colored flags with skeletons dancing on them and sugar skulls are everywhere.
Families build alters to honor their departed beloveds, decorated with pictures, flowers, candles and smiling skeletons. Then the families loving prepare a feast filled with the favorite foods of their dead loved ones. Soon they pour out onto the streets, parading to the graveyards with food and drink in hand, to have a party with those in the ground.
I simply am in love with this holiday and have adopted it as a tradition in our household. It is a wonderful way to celebrate the lives of those we have lost. Often, we invited friends over and ask them to bring a picture of their lost loved one to add to the alter with their loved one’s favorite dish. During dinner, we each talk about the person or fur person that is being remembered and toast to their spirits and memories. When you are gone, you are not truly gone if someone remembers you and celebrates your life.
The day of the dead came early for me this year. As many of you know, my dear old furry cat friend and lap warmer, Lilly, left our world and went off to the stars to put some purr into them. Little does anyone know, but she was the co-author of my articles. She would sit on my lap and purr inspiration while I typed. Things feel pretty stark without the halo of white fur floating around me while I write.
I will not forget my sweet muse Lilly. I will celebrate her furry little life and hope I still find white hair poking out of keyboard in years to come. I will remember to lie in the sun, when it is peeking out, and be content with just that. I will live life to the fullest and bake chicken often and eat it in her honor. (She loved to eat chicken!)
I have been working on the perfect roast chicken recipe for a while now. Like Lilly did; I love to eat chicken so perfecting the right roast chicken has been a passion of mine. Start with an organic chicken, preferably local. This is a basic recipe that you can use over and over just change the spices to your liking. I used a Mexican theme here since we are celebrating Day of the Dead, but the classic way to roast chicken is to use rosemary, sage, thyme and lemon instead. Viva el dia de los muertos!
Mexican Spiced Roast Chicken
You can choose to roast the chicken whole or cut it in half.
The brine;
3 cloves of garlic crushed
8 cups of cold water
4 tablespoons of kosher salt
1 tablespoon of chili powder
1 tablespoon of whole cumin seeds
1 teaspoon of whole black peppercorns
1 lime, halved and squeezed into the brine
Spice blend;
1 tablespoon of ground cumin
1 tablespoon of smoked paprika
1 tablespoon of chili powder
2 teaspoons of oregano
2 teaspoons of fresh cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
3 tablespoon of olive oil
A lime
3 cloves of garlic, minced
The rest
1, 4 to 5 pound fat pasture raised whole chicken
1 small onion cut into fourths.
For the brining; Trust me on this one, do not skip this step. Mix all the brine ingredients into large pot and stir until the salt is dissolved. Add some ice to bring the brine temperature down then add your chicken to the brine, making sure the whole thing is submerged. (It is okay to add more water to the brine to get it to cover the chicken) Place the pot in the fridge and brine for 2-12 hours.
While the chicken is brining, mix up everything from the spice mix but the oil, lime and garlic, in a small bowl. Turn the oven on to 400 degrees. Remove the chicken from the brine, (discard the brine) and pat the chicken dry then place the bird breast side up in heavy dutch oven. (If you do not have a dutch oven investing in one will be the best thing you could possibly do for your taste buds.) Squeeze the lime into the spice mix then tuck the lime halves and onion quarters in the cavity. Add the oil to the spice mix as well and spread that spicy oil mix gently under the skin and all over the chicken. (Sorry gotta get messy here since the best way to do it is with your hands.)
Tuck the chicken in the oven and bake for 30 minutes with the lid off. Lower the temperature to 350 degrees and then put the lid on the dutch oven and bake for another 30 minutes till beginning to brown. Take off the lid and baste with the delicious juices in the pot then let roast for 10-20 minutes more till the temperature at the deepest part of the thigh is 165-175 degrees and the skin is golden brown. It is about 20 minutes per pound cooking time. Don’t over bake it or you will have dried ole chicken that Lilly wouldn’t even eat. VERY IMPOTANT! Take out of the oven and let sit for 15 minutes to let the juices distribute into the meat. Serve with the pan juices on Mexican style cauliflower rice sprinkled with cilantro and salsa. Meow.
chowstalker (@Chowstalker) says
Oh, I wish I lived near you, for this and so many other reasons!! Miss Lily is beautiful and the stars are lucky. >^,,^< On top of that, I have chicken thawed and ready to be cooked…wasn't sure what I was going to do with it, until now.
Mary Catherine says
What a lovely post! I really had no idea about the Day of the Dead.
And, that chicken looks amazing!
kim says
I really wanted to try this but I had a pork roast thawed, no chicken at the moment. I giving it a go today, but I’m putting it in a crockpot. Kind of excited about the results!
ziabaki says
I think you are going to love it! It is very delicious. You’ll have to let me know what you think!
Sophie33 says
I never roasted a whole chicken before from scratch! That’s way to much meat for 2 persons! I am a bit scared to make it at home. Silly me, hey?
I think I must try your fabulous & tasty looking spiced chicken! looks tremendously tasty too! 😉
Abby says
A whole chicken isn’t nearly as scary as you might think. You can make lots of things (I bet this would make some yummy chicken salad) from the leftovers. Or just throw some shredded chicken on top of a green salad. And if you don’t to eat it all right away, you can always take the meat off the bone and freeze it for a later meal starter kit. Easy!
Dana Zia says
I love to do that! Very yummy. In fact a whole chicken rarely makes it to the second day in our household.
collette2687 says
my family made this the other day and it was delicious! a perfect twist on the standard roast chicken. thank you so much for posting! we’re new to blogging and not sure the best way to acknowledge your recipe so we linked back to your post in ours.
ziabaki says
It did turn out good didn’t it? It makes amazing tacos the day after too! Thanks for coming back and letting me know. I always appreciate that!
Chris says
This is too good! Thank you soooo much! I do it with all thighs and it our families favorite. It works perfect with green beans!
ziabaki says
Thank you for telling me! It is pretty yummy, huh?
Chris says
Unreal! Just finished dinner 🙂
Jo says
Admiring the time and effort you put into your blog and detailed information you provide.
It’s good to come across a blog every once in
a while that isn’t the same out of date rehashed material.
Excellent read! I’ve saved your site and I’m
adding your RSS feeds to my Google account.
Dana Zia says
why thank you! blush. 😀