Brett-EDH
TVWBB Hall of Fame
The rice dish is vermicelli toasted in butter and oil, then add in the rice grains and lightly toast them too. Next in is turmeric and chicken bullion, shortly sautéed to open up their flavors, then goes in water and once fully incorporated, a few splashes of home dried Italian leaf parsley. Gently mix, cover and cook the dish.
This recipe is a family favorite I adapted from a childhood boxed rice dish my mom would make.
Brett-EDH
TVWBB Hall of Fame
Thanks, Rich. I cooked it at 450°F the first 20 minutes and then 400°F for 50 minutes. Pull temp was 163° and the skin was perfectly crisped and rendered. All those spices made for a nice mouth bomb with each bite.
Timothy F. Lewis
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
I like it! That “San Francisco Treat” but, “real”! I’m going to try to remember that. Sautéed and simmered a taste that can’t be beat.
Brett-EDH
TVWBB Hall of Fame
I think we were too ̶c̶h̶e̶a̶p̶ price conscious to buy Rice-a-Roni brand growing up. I’ve still never had it to this day. Is it any good?
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Bob Bailey
TVWBB Guru
Dang Brett. You're ruining my diet.
Brett-EDH
TVWBB Hall of Fame
Everything was super healthy and clean, sans the rice dish. The chicken skin was super crispy due to cook temp. And the bird was moist at that pull temp. Go for it!
Timothy F. Lewis
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Fairly high on the salt scale if memory serves but, it was pretty good. I have not had anything like that in probably fifty years, GEEZE I’m getting old!
Brett-EDH
TVWBB Hall of Fame
I’ll scan the ingredients on my next shopping trip. Just to learn. My version is very balanced, flavor wise, and fresh herbs make it even better. I’m only 53. I still have time to try it, should it pass the ingredients list test.
Karl Quist
TVWBB Pro
I think your version will beat the box by a mile. I think the boxed version is way too salty. Like most things, homemade is better.
EDIT: great looking chicken too.
Brett-EDH
TVWBB Hall of Fame
agreed. we don't do much, if at all any, boxed frankenfoods at home. thanks for the chicken feedback. you should try it sometime. so much flavor and crust.I think your version will beat the box by a mile. I think the boxed version is way too salty. Like most things, homemade is better.
EDIT: great looking chicken too.
Tim Campbell
TVWBB Gold Member
Meh. Not terrible. Not great.
But it's definitely not pricier than your own version. It's about $1/box. For $10 you could feed a lot of folks. Homemade is better in myriad ways, but it's a fallacy to think that in this case, boxed is pricier.
These days, unless you're feeding a large family or a crowd of like 10+, the price of the fresh ingredients involved would triple the cost. At least it would where I am, where just one red-pepper is approaching a dollar.
I grew up close to poor, and boxed food was simply part of our diet. WIth two parents who worked 12+ hours daily and four kids' mouths to feed, stuff like that was irreplaceable.
And now that I can afford to cook basically whatever I want on a regular basis, I think back on those days constantly. I don't really want to eat that anymore, but I owe it to my childhood to make that dish. My son eats it up.
Tim Campbell
TVWBB Gold Member
I really want that chicken, Brett...faaaaantastic.
Brett-EDH
TVWBB Hall of Fame
It’s worth cooking. SPOG, chili powder, cumin, cayenne. You can apply each separately as you desire to build up the spices which’ll crust up nicely when you cook. High temp up front is key. This gets the bird to render that lower layer of fat that’s below the skin. Then 400° thereafter. I preferred a slightly higher done temp than my usual and was very happy at 163° breast temp to then pull it and let it rest so the juices settle back into the bird.
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