Once you’ve had roast chicken like this, you may never want to have it any other way. Everything else will be dry, tough and flavorless by comparison. Also try brining chicken that you broil, fry or bake.

Ingredients:
1 roasting chicken about 4 lbs (important note)
3 Tbs melted butter
about 2 quarts water
1/4 cup salt
2 cloves garlic, crushed (see this video for easy peeling)
1 Tbs dried tarragon
1 tsp dried rosemary or 1 sprig fresh bruised

Making brine:
1. Combine 1 quart of water with salt, garlic, tarragon and rosemary in a saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil then reduce to a slow simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Combine with remaining quart of water and refrigerate to chill.

Brining chicken:
1. Clean chicken and remove excess fat.
2. Place in cold brine, adding water if necessary to completely cover meat.
3. Refrigerate for 24-48 hours.

Roasting chicken:
1. Preheat oven and roasting pan to 375 degree F.
2. Remove chicken from brine, rinse well and pat dry with paper towels.
3. Coat chicken with melted butter.
4. Place wing side up on preheated roasting pan and roast for 20-30 minutes until browned.
5. Rotate so other wing side is up and roast another 20-30 minutes until browned.
6. Rotate chicken to breast side up and roast until dark meat in thigh reaches 170 degrees F and the breast at least 160 degrees F, about 15 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and let rest 20 minutes before carving.

Notes:
I use a jelly roll pan with a cooling rack for a chicken roaster. It’s important to hold the chicken out of the fat that will render out of the bird while roasting.

I found this container at my local restaurant supply store and it’s perfect for brining:

A digital thermometer with a probe is very handy. When chicken is turned to breast up, insert probe into thigh and set alarm to 170 degrees. Be sure to check breast temperature too when alarm goes off.

The resting time before carving is important. It allows the meat to retain as much moisture as possible. If you carve meat without a resting period a lot of the moisture ends up on the cutting board.

Experiment with brining time and amount of salt to suit your taste and schedule. You could use more salt and soak shorter for instance.

Other flavors to try: lavender, cilantro, bay leaf, oregano, fresh ginger root, kaffir lime leaf, lemon peel, sage, thyme…

My wife invented this one to get my oldest away from chicken nuggets. It turns out we like it too. It’s sweet and just a little bit spicy.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup honey
1-1/2 tsp ginger powder
1/4 tsp homemade garlic powder or one clove fresh, finely diced (see this video for easy peeling)
3/4 tsp salt
1-1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast (important note)

Preparation:
1. Cut chicken into thin strips.
2. Measure out spices.

Directions:
1. Heat honey in large frying pan on medium heat about four minutes or until it turns a carmel brown. See this image.
2. Add ginger, garlic and salt and mix.
3. Add chicken and mix.
4. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until chicken if fully cooked, stirring occasionally.

Notes:
Kick up the flavor a bit more by adding 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes.

Like orange chicken even better? Add the zest of one orange in the last minute or so. Be sure to get just the orange off the orange as the white part underneath is very bitter.

This dish demands your close attention. You need to do the preparation before you start heating the honey as you won’t have time once that begins. Honey can go from fine to burned in a few seconds. Once the chicken is mixed into the pan however, you can breath easier.

You can get a nasty burn from hot honey as it sticks instead of just running off like water. Be careful!

This gem was brought to me by my lovely wife. It’s fresh. It’s zingy. It sings a little song in your mouth. It’s a great cool meal for those hot summer days.

Ingredients:
2-3 lbs chicken breast, with bone and skin (important note)
1 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic, crushed (see this video for easy peeling)
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 carrots, shredded (or shaved if your feeling fancy)
2 medium cucumbers, peeled and seeded
1 small bunch fresh cilantro leaves

Directions:
1. Rinse chicken and place, bones up, in large pot with garlic, salt and pepper. Add water until it’s one or two inches above chicken.
2. Cover pot and bring to a medium simmer for about 60 minutes or until meat easily falls from bone.
3. Remove chicken from pot and allow to cool 20 minutes.
4. Using two forks, remove the meat from the bones and skin and shred it.
5. Assemble your plate thusly: shredded chicken topped with peanut sauce, then cucumber and carrot. Lastly a generous capping of fresh cilantro leaves. Click on the image above for an example.

Peanut Sauce Ingredients:
1 cup natural, unsweetened peanut butter
5 Tbsp honey (1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp)
1/4 cup peanut oil
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
1/8 tsp garlic powder (important note)
1/4 tsp ginger powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
salt (if your peanut butter doesn’t already have salt)

Directions for Peanut Sauce:
1. Combine all ingredients except for salt.
2. Taste and add salt if necessary.

Notes:
The peanut sauce is great on other things too. Try it on different meats and definitely try it on sauteed baby spinach.

Video:
How to remove the seeds from a cucumber.

For more of my videos, including higher quality versions, visit my YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/eatingSCD

When I began the diet, it took me about six months to realize this. I assumed that when I was buying chicken, that was all I was getting. One day I read the packaging and found I had been eating illegal chicken without knowing it.

I became much more diligent at reading labels. I’ve leaned that you can never assume.

UPDATE 2.9.10: It’s been pointed out to me that turkey has the same problems as chicken. Read the label on virtually any frozen turkey and you’ll find broth in the ingredients. Try looking for a fresh turkey and talking to the butcher. (Thanks Penny!)

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 yellow onion, sliced thin
2 tsp. ground cumin
16 oz pineapple tidbits in own juice (check for sweeteners)
4 cloves garlic, pressed or finely minced (see this video for easy peeling)
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tsp. salt
About 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into strips (important note)
fresh cilantro

Directions
1. Sauté onion in olive oil till they begins to brown.
2. Add cumin and sauté 2 minutes further.
3. Add pineapple tidbits and juice, garlic, red pepper flakes and salt and continue sautéing for 5 minutes.
4. Add sliced chicken, cover and simmer on medium until fully done, 10 – 15 minutes.

Top with plenty of fresh cilantro leaves to serve.

Ingredients:
2 -3 lbs chicken cut into chunks (important note)
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
2/3 cup water

Sauce:
2 Tbsp fresh ginger root, finely chopped
2 Tbsp garlic, pressed or finely chopped (see this video for easy peeling)
4 tsp homemade garam masala
1-1/2 tsp homemade chili powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp black cumin seeds
1 tsp cardamom, crushed
2 tsp ground coriander
1-1/3 cup rich yoghurt

Directions:
1. Melt butter in large saucepan and sauté onions until golden brown.
2. Combine sauce ingredients in a bowl, mixing till well combined.
3. Add chicken to onions and sauté for another 5 minutes.
4. Add water and sauce to pan and stir well.
5. Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until chicken is done and sauce is thick enough for your tastes.

Serve alone, or over steamed broccoli.
Serves 4-6.

Notes:

Cooking yoghurt will kill the bacteria so don’t consider the yoghurt in this recipe as a probiotic.