When I was really little, we didn’t have a lot of money, so when we had a roast chicken for dinner on Sunday, that meant we’d be having chicken sandwiches or chicken tacos on Monday (from the scraps) and chicken soup (from the bones) on Tuesday.  It was something I dreaded as a kid (chicken again, Mom?) but I still have a soft spot in my heart for a delicious roast chicken.

It’s funny now that I’m an adult, using the “whole animal” is trendy (way to have some foresight, Mom).  Whenever we cook chicken, we save the bones for homemade stock.  My husband is somewhat fanatical about homemade stock (he has been known to wrap up leftover bones from chicken dinners at my parents’ house).  But we generally just eat the roast chicken as chicken and don’t try to “transform” it into something else.  Perhaps it’s because we are boring, perhaps it’s because we are lazy, but in any event it just never seems to happen.

Why am I telling you all of this?  Well, other than to share with you how passionate we are about chicken in my family, if ever there was a roast chicken recipe that should be reincarnated into the most delicious chicken tacos, it is the recipe I am about to share with you today.

If it hasn’t been made clear thus far, I am sort of a roast chicken scholar.  I have tried countless roast chicken techniques and for a long time, my never-fail holy-grail recipe was Martha Stewart’s Perfect Roast Chicken from her book (and my bible) Martha Stewart’s Cooking School.  I have learned that when Martha calls something “perfect,” she means it.  I still have not found a breakfast sandwich more perfect than hers.

But there are times, when you want a little something different.  I was intrigued by an article in Sunset magazine a while back that boasted three ways (and several recipe variations) of how to make a roast chicken.  When it noted Judy Rodgers (of San Francisco restaurant Zuni i.e. the roast chicken masters) as the inspiration between their two brined roast chickens, I had to try them.

The initial intrigue was for a Chinese-style brined chicken, with orange and star anise and the like.  I made that one what seems like eons ago, when my father-in-law was in town back in Santa Monica.  It was delicious and it made me curious to try the other option, a Mexican-inspired brined chicken, with pineapple and lime in the brine. You can get recipes for both versions here and below I will share the photos of the steps as I prepared my brine.

First of all, can we just talk about this perfect skin?  I mean how much do you want to just bite into this right now?

A quick word about some of these ingredients, because I know there are a few you may not have in your pantry.  First, concentrated pineapple juice may sound fancy, but it is just that frozen pineapple juice that comes in a can melted down.  Next, Mexican oregano is something most people are not familiar with.  It IS different than Italian oregano (which you probably have in your pantry).  If you are having trouble finding it in the spice section of your grocery store, head over to the “ethnic” aisle of your local supermarket.  You should find it in a plastic bag near the Mexican ingredients and things like corn husks.

Lastly, you probably don’t have ancho chili powder in your cabinets.  I find it funny that most spice jars are just labeled “chili powder” when there are SO many different types of chilis (at different flavors and heats) in existence.  Perhaps I am spoiled, because when we were living in Los Angeles, I bought most of my spices here, where you can by the chili powder by type, but I’ve already been ruined and now I find myself making my own chili powder.

Here is how to do it:

Step 1: Buy dried chilis.  You will find them next to the Mexican oregano in the ethic aisle.  Ancho chili powder is made from ancho or pasilla chills. They look like this.

Step 2: Chop into small pieces. If you want a really intense flavor you can toast the chilies first (on the stovetop or in the oven) but since this recipe calls for 1/4 Cup of the stuff, I figured the flavor would be strong enough.

Step 3: Grind to a powder in a spice grinder. (Hint: a “spice grinder” is just a coffee grinder that you use for spices).

And you have fresh and delicious ancho chili powder! Now back to our brine…

Toss the salt into 1 quart of the water and dissolve over high heat.

Add 2 Cups of COLD water and then the rest of the ingredients. Stir well. Put the chicken into a large bowl and pour the brine over the top. If the brine does not entirely cover the chicken, weigh it down with a small plate.  Cover with a lid and store in the fridge for 8-12 hours.

Were you wondering if I have tiny baby hands like that Kristen Wiig character on the Lawerence Welk skit on SNL? From the above photo, I thought you might think that, so I wanted to share a photo of my sous chef:

Cooking with my lil buddy is the best.  We prepped our brine in the early morning and were able to roast the chicken that evening.

Once again…delicious:

We ate this straight up for night one, but I will definitely be turning this into some delicious chicken tacos for round two.

Martha’s roast chicken is still my go-to roast chicken recipe, but it is nice to have some alternatives so I never have to hear, “Chicken again, Mom?!”