The cooking method is really easy and gives moist chicken every time. Remove the backbone (use this backbone and neck bones to make the chicken stock for the glaze by boiling with 2 cups water, 1 carrot, 1 celery, couple slices of onion, 1 garlic (pressed), 1/8 tsp oregano, 1/4 tsp kosher salt, for 20 min.) of the chicken with a pair of poultry scissors, so you can press it down flatter to make it easier to cook in the fry pan later. You can always vary the spices (for the oregano, preferably use powder (can always grind up flakes with mortar and pestle), not flakes which can burn), and marinade to suit your recipe. I let the chicken sit in the dry rub for 30 min to 2 days, then added the marinade (for the dark rum, I used the cheapest one I could find at the liquor store which was Brugal Dominican Gold Label rum) and let it sit covered in the refrig for 6 hrs to 2 days. Play around with different combinations of the marinating times to suit your taste and recipes.

When it comes time to cook it, sear the chicken on both sides in a fry pan with bacon grease (I always have a jar in my refrig), then lay the chicken on it’s back in a small roasting pan (or oven-proof fry pan), add 1/2 cup of the marinade to the pan, and cook at 300 F for 40 – 50 min., depending on the size of your chicken. Always check if chicken is cooked thoroughly using a meat thermometer (meat internal temp 165 F) or cut at the joint of leg to make sure meat is no longer pink). The glaze is not necessary if you plan to just use this chicken for cold chicken salad recipes.

Happy Eating!