12.11.2013

Honey Roasted Chicken


Good morning y'all!

Cooking a whole chicken always touches a special place in my heart.. I own three fids (feathered kids) aka parrots. The funniest part about this is, they LOVE chicken!! Those little Hannibal Lecter wannabes! Anyway, when I am holding these chickens, I think of my little birds. I think we can all agree that the taste is just too good to pass up though.

Smooches to this poor baby!

I was never really motivated to roast whole chickens because whenever my mom would make them, they would be in the oven for about 2 hours. When you are a working woman, there is no way to have this meal ready at a decent hour - UNTIL now! This chicken cooks for just 1 hour and is soo moist and flavorful! The skin is crispy and sweet. I decided to make the chicken with sweet potato au gratin because it cooks in about the same time. It was a perfect side in addition to some broccoli.


Servings: 3-4
Prep time: 10
Cook time: 1 hour


Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (3.5-4 lb), cleaned out - rinsed and patted dry
1 lemon, cut in half
5 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
3 leaves of sage (or you can use Rosemary)
1/4 cup Honey
2 tbs lemon juice (from one of the halves)
Salt & Pepper
3 tbs Olive Oil
2 tbs unsalted butter, warmed
1/2 tbs Garlic Powder



Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees (I preheated a cast iron pan as well to cook the chicken in). Season chicken generously with salt and pepper and 1/2 tbs garlic powder on both sides.

2. Place chicken breast side up. Mix 1 tbs lemon juice with butter - with your fingers, spread half of this mix under the skin of the chicken (between the skin and the meat - shown below). Finish the mixture by rubbing on top of whole chicken (legs, wings, etc). I also drizzled a bit of olive oil on top.

3. Place the unused half of lemon inside the chicken, along with the garlic gloves and sage.

4. Place chicken in cast iron (or roasting dish) and bake for 30 minutes. 

5. In the meantime, whisk together honey, olive oil and a bit of salt in small bowl. Once oven timer goes off, remove chicken and spread half the honey mixture on top with a spoon. Place back into oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes. 

6. Once timer goes off again, remove chicken and spread the remaining honey mixture on top. Spoon some of the juices from the bottom of the pan and drizzle over chicken. Bake for an additional 20 minutes until chicken is cooked through.





5 comments:

  1. I'm not sure if my previous post arrived but I wanted to say sorry for my review of your chicken. I may have has some questions about it but apparently it was a hit with my mom, niece, and nephew! My niece loved it so much she was hoarding all the leftovers tonight!!! Thanks again sorry for any offense. I even found the leftovers more tasteful and will wait to post opinions in the future!

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    Replies
    1. Hi LaToya! No apologies needed - I love feedback whether negative or positive. I did reply on the first comment (it was located on the recipe archive page). The cast iron pan (preheated in the oven before the chicken goes in) helps cook more evenly. a roasting pan helps the juices stay in which in the end helps flavoring. The chicken is to be cooked breast up (stated above). I am glad leftovers were a hit and hope you can try it again in the future! thanks for your honesty!!

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  2. I realize this post is 3 years old so you might never see this, but this seriously was the easiest, most juicy, most flavorful whole chicken recipe I've ever made.
    Will make again and again! Thank you!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks so much, Amy! That's wonderful to hear!

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  3. I am trying out the recipe and adding strategically sliced lemons under the skin whenever and calling it fit bitties

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