RECIPE: Raspberry Chipotle Barbecue Chicken

It's been a while since I have posted a chicken recipe, so here is a new one for you.

But first I should tell you this little side story...

I would have posted this sooner but... a couple of nights ago I was going to make this recipe, but, uh... well, let's just say it didn't quite turn out like I had planned it.

I put the chicken in the oven and then went out in the rain to take care of the chickens, all 800 of them mind you. I THOUGHT that Dan the Man was coming out shortly to help me haul the approximate 175 lbs of feed and 30 gallons of water that is now required at each feeding. We feed once in the morning and once in the late afternoon. It generally takes about an hour for one person to do it, that is if the weather is cooperating.

Well, to make a long story short, let's just say that Dan the Man never showed up to help his little Country Chicken girl so by the time she make it back into the house, close to an hour later than she had originally planned, smoke was pouring out of the kitchen and the chicken was closely resembling burnt toast! Meanwhile, Dan the Man was sitting with his feet up on the couch watching Wheel of Fortune and Country Chicken Girl was standing there soaking wet from the rain asking him if he had noticed that tonight's dinner was in the oven burning while he was trying to figure out the latest prize puzzle that Pat and Vanna were showing on the television.

"Burning?" says Dan the Man.

"Yes, BURNING!!" says the Country Chicken Girl. "Didn't you notice? Why didn't you take it out of the oven? This isn't quite what I had planned and now it's ruined."

The Country Chicken Girl took the roasting pan out of the oven, convinced that her favorite roast pan of all time was ruined because all the liquid that was in the pan was now burnt to a crisp, it certainly could have been classified as a bad carcinogen. She actually had never seen chicken that WELL DONE before! So the Country Chicken simply announced that it was "get-your-own-dinner night" and that Dan the Man was in charge of clean up.

Dan the Man tried to make light of the whole horror show as it unfolded my saying, "But that's how I like my chicken, with the skin really crisp and crunchy!"

Well, that's all behind us, thank heavens and I am so happy to announce that Dan the Man cleaned the Country Chicken Girl's favorite roasting pan and it is fine and so is their marriage!

So here's the recipe. Just make sure you don't leave the house to feed the chickens while it is roasting.




Raspberry Chipotle Barbecue Chicken

Ingredients

One Whole Chicken
Bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's Raspberry Chipotle Barbecue Sauce




Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Butterfly the chicken.

Watch this link of you don't know how to butterfly a chicken. Trust me, this is easy and you will fall in love with this technique. It is great for roasting chickens!!

How to Butterfly a Chicken

3. Place chicken in large roasting pan and fill with 2 cups chicken broth or you can use water if you don't have chicken broth. This will insure that your chicken is juicy and not dry! I hate dry chicken, don't you?
4. Place pan in oven for 45 to 60 minutes depending on how large your chicken is. Mine was 6 lbs, so I roasted it for 60 minutes or a little longer. Sorry, I didn't really time it. Just roast it until it is done, internal temp of 175 degrees and the juices run clear.
5. Brush on the barbecue sauce during the last 15 minutes of roasting.
6. Take out of oven and place the chicken on a cutting board, let the chicken rest for at least 15 minutes. This allows the delicious juices to settle back into the meat.
7. Serve with additional barbecue sauce on the side.

Oh my goodness, this is so delicious! Seriously...