We often make roasted chicken halves in Nesco roasters at our church but you could use the same method with pieces. We cover the bottom of the roasters with a layer of sliced onions, celery sticks and chopped fresh parsley. The steam from the vegetables adds flavor to the poultry. Put in a layer of chicken halves, skin side up, and dust them with salt, pepper and paprika and dot generously with butter. (2 sticks for 50 chicken halves)

Add more chicken layers, adding seasoning and butter between each layer. On the top layer, coat all skin with vegetable oil. Cover tightly and roast at 350 degrees for 2 hours, basting often, or until chicken is fork tender. Increase cooking time to 3 hours if pan is filled to the top.

Chicken Marbella is one recipe that improves with cooking then refrigerating. There is a reason this recipe is so popular - it is delicious!

A link to the original from The Silver Palate is below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Chicken Marbella at Epicurious

Thanks ruthanna - though I'd really like to get the lemon in there - I was thinking Sol's Lemon Garlic chicken, don't know if minced garlic from a jar will work instead of garlic cloves (at 25 cloves per 3 lbs of chicken, that would be a lot of garlic to peel!) - I may try your recipe.

Teresa - I could maybe marinate in big ziploc bags after taking the thighs out of their pouches, but I don't have room to refrigerate pans of it after it's cooked, will have to cook it that day and keep it warm until serving time. I'll have to try that recipe sometime for a smaller group.

Keep the recipes coming!

I would make grilled boneless thighs and serve at room temperature. Make the day before and bring to room temp for an hour or two before serving.
Before letting them warm up, slice diagonally into strips and garnish on the platter. With all the other food, most don't want a whole piece of chicken anyway.
Another option is skewering them with a piece of grilled pineapple or something. Again serve at room temp.

We have made grilled chicken with a kind of teriyaki sauce for crowds, around 25 people. It's always a big hit. The last time we did this, I did 6 big chickens (around 6-7 lbs each) and we had no leftovers. We also served about 20lb of pulled pork, most of which was eaten too.

The sauce is a blend of hoisin (thick soy works well too), soy (omit if you're using thick soy), sherry and a bit of vinegar and chili. Sorry, I don't use a recipe, it's mostly by eye and what I have on hand.

If you're nervous about winging it, you can buy Yoshida's Teriyaki from Costco. Our Costco carries several Yoshida's marinades, and they are all decent and not too expensive. DH grills the chicken which can be frozen after cooking, and reheated in the oven. You could probably do it all in the oven if grilling isn't an option. If you do boneless chicken thighs, cut them into smaller pieces before cooking.

Cheryl

Chicken wings or thighs baked in Yoshida's sauce are a favorite in our family! My mom, my two sisters and I fix them quite often. So easy too! I take the skin off the bone-in thighs using a paper towel to get a good grip on the skin. I always fix several thighs even if just cooking for myself, so there will be leftovers.

Teresa

We like teriyaki chicken too but since the only other options are ham, a little bit of sausage, peppers and onion, kielbasa and this breaded chicken dish (?), I wanted to offer something low-salt, and fairly low-fat. My great uncle (guest of honor) is on a low-salt diet due to kidney problems, and many of the guests are 75 & older and might be as well. The grandkids and great-grandkids can eat the other stuff.

I have to agree with the chicken marbella, it's a wonderful dish for a crowd. I've had it with prunes and apricots and like it both ways. It's easy to make and it's low fat, and "healthier" if you use EVOO.

Does it need to be refrigerated or can I make it the same day and let it cool to room temp (obviously would have to be eaten or reheated within 2 hours of coming out of the roaster)? I really don't have room to put the pan in my fridge - not sure how big the fridge is at the club.

I can buy prunes and probably olives when I get the chicken at BJs but I don't know about capers. How do you think it would be with Kalamata olives instead of green olives/capers? I have a jar and a half (opened Easter) of K. olives. Oh, and Merlot instead of white wine? I've got an opened bottle of Casillero del Diablo (one of my favorites, but it's going to a good cause!) in the fridge and don't really have room for another bottle of wine (the kids *insist* on milk and OJ!) if I open a white.

I'm using my really big ziploc bags for ice now (been making ice for days), but can fit quite a few thighs in a gallon bag, and can stack those in a 9x13 pan in my fridge for marinating (or use a Foodsaver so I know it won't leak).

Looks like if I double the marinade ingredients from Silver Palate recipe it should do about 18 lbs of thighs?

Thanks - getting down to the wire now (I told DH I thought I should get chicken and lemonade tomorrow, not today, just b/c I really don't have much room in fridge. Might have to stick the lemonade directly in a cooler.

I think your substitutions will be fine. The flavors are very similar. I have made Marbella a few times and it's always a hit.

Eileen

Oh, I just read the recipe again and the wine doesn't go in til right before cooking, so I can use the 2nd bottle of Riesling my parents brought for Easter if that's better than the Merlot. Once I get the chicken and lemonade (if there's even room for lemonade to begin with) out of the fridge, I will have room for another bottle of wine - esp. if I decant what's left into a smaller container (mason jars are good enough for moonshine, should be good enough for a screw-top Riesling LOL).

I cleaned out the bottom shelf of the fridge, still have to see if Nesco pan is too tall to fit under deli drawer but I might have room for it after all, as long as we don't have leftovers from tonight's dinner.

Going to make the Chicken Marbella - but how much garlic would you say is "1 head of garlic, peeled and finely pureed "? I have minced garlic in water, I think it says 1 tsp = 1 clove, but how many cloves to a head? 8? And how finely do you puree? Is it even necessary to puree minced garlic for this recipe?

I'm going to look for pitted prunes at BJ's (I'm sure they have them), use the Kalamata olives I already have instead of green olives and capers. Wine will be the Riesling from Easter. Think I'm all set?

This post was edited by ajsmama on Sat, Apr 6, 13 at 8:52