My auntie Rose’s baked chicken recipe is seriously a thing of beauty. She rubs the chicken with a homemade spice rub that marinates to really get into the meat. Then she bakes it up with butter, onions, a little maple and more poppin flavors. It bakes up like a dream and gets so juicy and tender, it falls off the bone. She’s given us a ton of bomb recipes like her cornbread dressing and deviled eggs so you know this is a hit.
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How to Make Baked Chicken
Step 1: Pat chicken dry and place in a large bowl. Mix seasoned salt, rosemary, garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper. Toss the chicken to coat. Cover and refrigerate 2–3 hours or if you can, overnight. When ready to bake, bring to room temp for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 325°F. Arrange chicken in an 8×11 or 9×13-inch dish, drizzle with maple syrup, top with onions, and dot with butter.
Step 2: Lastly, drizzle Worcestershire sauce over the chicken. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 1 hour. After an hour, turn the chicken over and evenly sprinkle the top of the chicken with paprika. Bake for an additional hour.
Step 3: After the 2nd hour, turn the temperature to 350 degrees. Remove foil, sprinkle with more paprika if desired for color. Brown for 20-30 more minutes. Garnish with fresh rosemary and serve.
Baked Chicken Recipe
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Ingredients
- 2 tsp seasoned salt
- 2 tsp dried rosemary
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 4 lbs fresh chicken wings We use wings most of the time but you can also use legs or even thighs but not breasts
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/2 cup butter in pats
- 1 large onion thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- Paprika to taste
- Fresh rosemary for garnish
Instructions
- Dry chicken with paper towels and place in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Whisk together seasoned salt, dried rosemary, garlic powder, onion powder and black pepper in a small bowl until combined.
- Sprinkle and toss chicken with seasoning mix ensuring all of the chicken is completely covered. Cover and place chicken in the refrigerator and rest for 2-3 hours or even overnight.
- When ready to bake, remove chicken from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Add chicken to a 8×11 or 9×13” baking dish.
- Use a spoon to drizzle chicken with maple syrup on both sides. Cover with onions then add pats of butter over the chicken. Lastly, drizzle Worcestershire sauce over the chicken. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 1 hour.
- After an hour, turn the chicken over and evenly sprinkle the top of the chicken with paprika. Bake for an additional hour.
- After the 2nd hour, turn the temperature to 350 degrees. Remove foil, sprinkle with more paprika if desired for color. Brown for 20-30 more minutes. Garnish with fresh rosemary and serve.
Notes
Storage
Fridge: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Freezer: Wrap individual portions of cooked chicken in aluminum foil and place them in a freezer-safe bag. You can freeze the chicken this way for up to 3 months. Reheating: Reheat leftovers in the oven at 350°F for 15-20 minutes, or until warm.Nutrition
Recipe Tips
- Dry Them Well! Press firmly on the wings with paper towels to blot away excess moisture. The less moisture on the skin, the more crisp and flavorful your wings will be!
- Don’t Use Breasts: Because we are baking this chicken for quite a while, these will just dry out.
- Turn While Baking: Be sure to set a timer and turn the chicken halfway through baking. Flipping the chicken will ensure even cooking and golden-brown skin all over! I also like to rotate the baking dish so it gets evenly cooked.
- Serving Suggestions: This meal is seriously so perfect with easy sides like honey glazed carrots and green beans with tomatoes. Or you can have a fantastic Sunday supper with slow cooker mashed potatoes, creamed corn and mustard greens.
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I'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
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Loved it
Delicious!! A must have.
Because wings prices are unnecessarily costly due mainly to it being a favorite ballgame watching snack, I chose legs and thighs.still yum.agree with maple syrup use.thanks for the share
As a Brit looking to use up some drumsticks without using the week’s fat ration in one go, these were delicious! Thank you.
This was the best oven baked chicken ever! I made it for dinner yesterday using wings and drumsticks. Just remember to adjust the amount of seasons based on how much chicken you are cooking! I let it marinade over night. It was delicious!
Can I ask why using the breast is discouraged?
This recipe sounds wonderful and we love wings but, I wonder about something similar for chicken breasts. Do you ever prepare spicy breasts?
This is one of the easiest, “most delicious” as my boys say, baked chicken recipes. It’s definitely a favorite in my house hold! *whispers-even better than my ancestors… I am a vegetarian and will never tell my mama this as she is a southern gal & she scared me haha … but my boys (especially my little who’s still in his changing taste buds stage) say it’s easily their favorite. And the recipe itself, like I said super easy prep and bake. My teenager loves learning to cook, so he has made this many a times. Along side southern baked mac, cast iron corn bread, and greens… It’s delicious! This is a recipe my son says he wants to make for his kids someday and I’m sure that says a lot about it . Thank you for sharing it with us!!
Good Morning Beautiful!
I am gonna make your Southern Baked Chicken for dinner today. I’ll let you know if they come out like yours, or close to your description. I love your recipes and have tried a few of them and always find pleasure in hearing your voice and seeing that incredible infectious smile. Be well and keep those recipes coming! It’s a rare thing to find a beauty such as yourself that can cook!..Lol
Love all your recipes! I seasoned wings and already cut them in sections. Flats and drums….will the cooking time change? Thank you!
It shouldn’t! If you want to keep an eye on them towards the end of the cooking time though, it wouldn’t hurt. Hope you enjoy it!
I did it ! So yummy