By Jacob Mathias

Hello, fellow eaters. The deep freeze may be over, but we’re still facing months of cold. If you’re anything like me, you have several whole chickens in the freezer all year long because they’re fairly inexpensive, easy to purchase whole, much better quality than prepackaged chicken and there are literally dozens of uses for the meat.

One of the simplest and most wonderful dishes is a whole- roasted chicken. Whole birds tend to scare people off, but they’re so easy to prepare and feed a family of four with meat left over for days.

Whole birds bring you the most for your money, and depending on the size of the bird you buy, roasted chicken can yield several leftover meals: sandwiches, soup, pot pie, fried rice dishes and omelets. You can play around with your favorite spices to add to your chicken rub, and regardless of how you season the bird, it’s still good in just about any leftover recipe.

Here’s one of my favorite chicken rubs. I hope you enjoy it.

You will need:

1 roaster chicken, rinsed and patted dry
½ stick of softened butter
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp dried parsley
Water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix the seasonings with the butter. Using your hands or a spatula, coat the outside of the chicken, as well as the interior cavity, with the butter/spice mixture.

Place chicken breast side up on a rack in your roasting pan, with about a cup of water in the bottom of the pan to prevent burning.

Roast for about an hour, or until the center of breast is at least 155 degrees. You will need to add an additional cup of water to the roasting pan every 20-30 minutes, and when you’re done roasting these juices can be used to make gravy.

Remove from oven and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes before carving.

Serve with simple mashed potatoes and a gravy made from the pan sauce.

And remember, Live to Eat!