The Best Spices for Baking Chicken

Baked chicken can be spiced with just about anything.fired chicken image by Leonid Nyshko from Fotolia.com

Chicken is a nearly blank canvas, food-wise, that can be seasoned with a wide variety of flavors and spices. There is no "best" spice for chicken because no one can tell you that basil is better than ginger or coriander. The best spices for chicken are those that you like best; whether that's a little salty, something with a kick, a mixture with citrus, fresh savory leaves or sweet and sticky.

Salt and Pepper

The number one basic go-to spice combination in any food preparation has and will always be salt and pepper. Salt is one of the world's most historically sought after spice; at one time it was such a valuable commodity that wars were fought for it and Roman soldiers were paid with it, and for good reason: when salt is added to any food, the flavor is instantly pronounced, chicken included. Black pepper is salt's mate--soul mates on the dinner table. When baking chicken solely with salt and pepper, use good quality sea salt and pepper freshly ground from a pepper mill using whole pepper corns. Experiment with different types of pepper corns, including black, red, pink and white.

Fresh herbs add a summery, light and seemingly "healthy" tone to chicken. These include fresh basil leaves, rosemary, dill, thyme and parsley. Marinating the chicken in whole herbs with oil or vinegar is a possible use, as is chopping the herbs and rubbing them into the chicken, stuffing them under the skin or stuffing them inside the cavity like a stuffed turkey before baking. Combinations of herbs and other flavoring agents such as onion, garlic and lemon work to give chicken a gourmet flavor. Try lemon dill or rosemary garlic, sprinkled of course with salt and pepper.

The word "spice" in general conjures images of heat, of which chicken is a great recipient of. Many Eastern cuisines rely on hot spices in chicken dishes, including numerous spicy chicken curries in India and eastern Asia. Curry powder, ginger, wasabi, hot chili powder or paste, mustard seeds and powder rubbed into chicken before baking all make for a highly flavorful and face-sweating experience.

Powdered spices of dried herbs or seeds are the quintessential savior for a last minute meal. Powdered spices such as coriander, cumin, lemon pepper, ground ginger, fennel seed, saffron, dried thyme and bay leaf can all add flavor and spice to a once bland chicken. Sprinkle and rub the powders into the chicken flesh before baking.