This recipe is the brilliant masterpiece of my mother. It has been famous ever since it’s debut when I was a teenager and now we all keep a jar of it handy. Roast chicken is one of the easiest, affordable and  most impressive meals to make.  My favorite feature, is that it cooks nicely during church for a fast lunch once we get home.

Single Herbed Chicken Rub:

1 t salt

1/8 t pepper

½ t paprika

¼ t savory

¼ t thyme

¼ t garlic powder

Yield:  2 and 3/8 tsp

Rub the chicken all over with the mix and place breast side down in a roasting pan.  (Breast side down makes the meat more moist, breast side up makes the skin crispy.  You pick which one you want.) Surround it with peeled potatoes and carrot.  Top with sliced onion and ribs of celery.  Place a few cups of water in the bottom of the pan (miss the chicken, so you don’t wash off the rub.)   Then bake at 325 degrees for 2-3 hours.  (3 if the chicken is still frozen, with the bag of giblets in the center. . . 2 if you bothered to thaw it and pull them out.) I roast mine covered which is technically wrong…but it leaves more broth in the pan and keeps it moist.

Make gravy by pouring the broth from the pan through a strainer into a measuring cup. Heat the broth in a pan to boiling.  Dissolve 1 Tbs of cornstarch or 1 tsp of glucomannan powder per cup of broth into enough water to make a smooth paste.  Pour the smooth paste into the hot broth and cook and stir until thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Large Batch Herbed Chicken Rub

1/2 cup salt

1 Tbs pepper

1/4 cup Paprika

2 Tbs savory

2 Tbs thyme

2 Tbs garlic powder

Yield: 1 cup 3 Tbs