Chicken Traybake
Today I had the outdoor oven people over to look at where we can build an outdoor bread oven in our backyard.
I’m very excited at the prospect of being able to finally make bread in a real bread baking oven.
With bread it’s all about the heat, you need a very hot surface to bake bread on to make it the best.
I’m excited at all the possibilities, and to learn how to bake using this type of oven for other things.
This chicken traybake recipe would be one of the things I think I could bake in the bread oven.
It’s one of those dishes that gets mixed in a bowl, and is poured in a baking dish, and then stuck in the oven.
The result is beautifully baked meal of succulent chicken with a huge amount of flavor.
The ghee in this recipe is key to the unique taste.
One of the main reasons to use ghee is the higher smoke point, butter burns at 350F (177C), whereas ghee can withstand temperatures up to 485°F (250°C) before it burns.
Another reason some use ghee is because it is lactose free.
Two good reasons to use it.
For those who have trouble with dairy, ghee is ideal.
I think the butter flavor is more pronounced when using ghee.
Some say that ghee is better for you than butter, and that most likely comes from Ayurvedic teachings.
But whereas the ghee that the Ayurvedic texts talk about true ghee which where derived from yogurt so had probiotic properties.
This is generally not the case for most widely produced ghees that you find in most grocery stores.
I’m so interested in the methods employed to use woodfired ovens, and I am hoping that the oven we have built will allow me to also use wood to fire it.
I was in Italy in October and the place I stayed had a wood oven for baking.
They told me that it took three days of continuous fire to get their oven up to temperature.
And then of course the ovens are designed to hold heat, so it takes time to cool down as well.
Of course when cooking with wood, the temperatures are variable so require experience in that kind of cooking.
All things I want to learn, and am very excited to get started.
I am also considering getting a zarb oven put in the backyard as well.
Zarb cooking is a method used by the bedouin tribes.
It is a method of using the ground as your oven.
A whole is dug, and a fire started in a hole in the ground with some coals added.
As soon as the fire dies down and you have the coal embers glowing, the meat and vegetables are put on racks of a specially made grill with a lid.
The top is closed and the whole thing is buried in the ground for several hours.
What comes out is beautifully slow cooked meat and soft and tasty vegetables.
In fact this chicken traybake would actually be a great candidate for the zarb oven.
I can’t wait!
Turmeric Chicken Traybake
Ingredients
- 3 Chicken Thighs
- 3 Chicken Legs
- 1 tsp Turmeric
- 2 tbsp Ghee melted
- 1 tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Pepper
- 1 Onion chopped
- 6 Garlic Cloves minced
- 1 tsp Ginger fresh
- ½ tsp Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Cumin
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Place chicken in a bowl.
- Add all other ingredients.
- Mix with your hands rubbing the chicken with the ingredients until thoroughly coated.
- Pour the chicken and all other ingredients into a baking dish.
- Place in the oven for 60 minutes or until browned and done.
This is a delicious and simple one!! Thank you!
Thanks Anne! I hope you enjoy it.