Green Tabasco Chicken

This is my best new recipe find of the year. I have made it a dozen times. It has been posted by several sources but it seems to be originated by Bill Smith in his book Seasoned in the South. I with the help of others modified his recipe.

1 chicken 4-6 lbs. (I prefer any with the automatic temp popper)

salt

ground pepper

2 jalapenos cut in half

1 lemon, cut in half

1 small bottle of green tabasco sauce

2 cloves of garlic

melted butter for basting

1 cup dry white wine (or vermouth) for gravy

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Remove giblets and save for gravy (remove liver). Salt and pepper the chicken cavity and add jalapenos, lemon and garlic to the cavity. Put chicken in roasting pan on a rack and cover with the green tabasco sauce. Add more salt and pepper to the outside of the chicken.

Bake chicken for 20 minutes at 500 and then reduce to 350. In the meantime, add enough water over giblets and bring to a simmer. This becomes a base for the gravy. Baste chicken in melted butter every 20 minutes. The chicken should be done in another hour to hour and a half. (Heres' where the value of the auto pop is so great). This chicken can be overcooked and still be moist so err on the side of overdone.

Remove chicken from roasting dish. Add drippings and jalapenos to gravy (minus the giblets); add wine and boil until reduced about 10 minutes. Add flour to thicken and stir.

If gravy intimidates you, don't make it, but put the juice in the drippings aside for a pure chicken gravy. Serves 4 to 6 depending on your carving skills.