Honey Baked Chicken and Gravy

We found whole chickens at a great reduced price when we went shopping this week. So we bought two, stuck one in the freezer, and the other in the fridge to use right away. We love to roast up a whole chicken and use it for meals throughout the next week. Jeff found a great recipe for baked chicken and decided to try it. I really look forward to using the leftovers from this chicken!

Honey Baked Chicken
1 whole chicken
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 egg yolk
3 tablespoons honey
4 tablespoons margarine, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Peel the skin away from the chicken without removing the skin. The idea is to put the seasoning between the skin and the chicken, so that the meat is flavored, but the skin is there to keep in the moisture. I don't like to eat the skin of the chicken, but it keeps it moist when baking, so we leave it on. Then all the flavor is on the skin that I just end up pulling off! So this is a happy medium.

Rub chicken with garlic powder, salt and pepper, making sure to rub the seasoning under the skin, onto the actual meat. In a small bowl, beat egg yolk with honey and butter or margarine, then brush this mixture over chicken, again putting it between the meat and the skin. Place chicken, breast side up, in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish (not a roasting pan, you want it to sit in its juices). Cover with foil.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes per pound (our chicken was 5 1/2 pounds, so we cooked it for 2 hours) or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear, basting with pan juices periodically. After the chicken is done baking, you can drizzle a bit more honey over it if you choose. Then carve and serve that big hunk of chickenny goodness!
This is yet another allrecipes.com recipe. Jeff chose the recipe and prepared it. Find the original recipe here. Originally the recipe called for the chicken to be cut into pieces. The juices of this chicken are really good, but didn't really penetrate the chicken as well as I would have liked, so next time we'll probably go ahead and do chicken pieces instead of the whole chicken, so each piece can have more juicy flavor. Also, the pan drippings make a great gravy:

Honey Baked Chicken Gravy
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. flour
2/3 cup pan drippings
1/3 cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in saucepan, stir in flour until smooth. Add pan drippings and milk. Whisk over medium-high heat until thickened. If too thick, add some additional milk as needed. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

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