Roasted Chicken & Vegetables with Dekuyper Cactus

Make this for Fall, a good chicken roast… this season before Thanksgiving.  Inside lies a hint of a fiery flavor, though mild, laced with Dekuyper Cactus Juice Schnapps Liqueur.

This gives the dish a slight Tex-Mex twist.

Prepare your choice of vegetables, first.  My selection for this meal: roughly chopped assortment of peppers and celery, peeled russet potatoes and sweet potatoes, garlic.

Clean and pat-dry chicken legs (or thighs).  Leave on the skin to sear crisp in a smudge of canola oil and a little bit of butter.

Be sure to add chunks of apple-wood smoked bacon and onion when searing on both sides of meat pieces.  Season with Cajun pepper or steak seasoning.

Lightly brown all the sides.

Scrape the bottom of the skillet while you deglaze the pan with dry white wine after the meat is seared and removed.  Stir in pickled red tomato relish, sliced mushrooms, half of a roughly-chopped Granny Smith green apple, fresh thyme and sage… then 1/4 to 1/2 cup Dekuyper Cactus, whatever you can handle [and butter].

Quickly toss in the chopped vegetables to coat with meat drippings and seasonings.  Lay the vegetables over the chicken in a buttered/greased oblong pan to place in a 400 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes–if lining the pan with foil to save on a cleanup-mess, still grease the foil because cooked food will stick to that, too. Cover with a top-foil, then remove the cover.  Turn the oven temp down to 325 and continue cooking uncovered until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender.

Carefully turn the vegetables and meat during the remainder of cooking.