Orange Roasted Chicken
SKU:
Roasting full oranges with chicken keeps it moist and flavorful, and adding your favorite vegetables makes this super-flexible.
Fear not spatchcocking a chicken. It's just a fancy word for splitting a whole chicken open.
Adapted from Harry and David.
PSA: Uses a large roasting pan and kitchen shears if splitting the whole chicken.
Fear not spatchcocking a chicken. It's just a fancy word for splitting a whole chicken open.
Adapted from Harry and David.
PSA: Uses a large roasting pan and kitchen shears if splitting the whole chicken.
Ingredients
|
Roasting Stuff
2 oranges, ideally Cara Cara variety, cut into slightly larger than ¼-inch thick slices 5-6 small red or yellow potatoes, quartered 1 onion, cut into 16 pieces (less than bite-sized pieces) About half a bag of baby carrots Optional 1 carton of your favorite mushrooms, sliced 3T olive oil Hawaiian or kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper At least two tablespoons of fresh or dried thyme. If using fresh, reserve a few extra springs for the roasting pan. One whole chicken OR 5-6 pieces of bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs |
Orange Honey Sauce
¼ cup your favorite honey Juice of 1 orange |
What To Do
For prep, cut all vegetables and place into a large bowl with half of the sliced oranges. Add about 1-2T of olive oil and toss until everything is coated. Season with salt, pepper, and about 1T of thyme.
Pre-heat oven to 425°F. Make sure your roasting rack is slightly lower than the halfway point of the oven height and that you have enough clearance between the next oven rack. I have had to re-jigger hot oven racks because I forget to check, and it is hazardous.
Drizzle remaining 1T of olive oil to coat the bottom of the roasting pan. Lay the other half of the sliced oranges flat in the center of the roasting pan to make a platform for the chicken.
If using a whole chicken, remove the guts and using kitchen shears, cut the backbone out of the chicken and split it so it spreads flat. Voila ici, you have spatchcocked a chicken. If using chicken thighs, take them out of the package and be happy.
Season chicken with salt, pepper and thyme and place on top of the orange slices. Put the vegetables and orange slices around the chicken. It is now ready for roasting.
Roast at 425°F for 20-25 minutes. The skin will start to brown toward the then.
While this is happening, mix honey and orange juice in a small saucepan. Boil and reduce until thick and syrupy. It takes around 10 minutes depending on how juicy the orange is.
At 25 minutes, turn the oven down to 375°F. Open the oven slowly and carefully especially if you are wearing glasses because it will steam. Brush the chicken with the orange honey sauce and let the chicken cook.
If you have a full chicken, it will cook for about 30 more minutes, until the internal temperature is 165°F. Brush the chicken a few more times during this cooking period and use all the sauce
If you are using chicken thighs, cook time will be faster, likely around 20 minutes. Brush the chicken thighs as with the whole chicken, using all the sauce.
Pre-heat oven to 425°F. Make sure your roasting rack is slightly lower than the halfway point of the oven height and that you have enough clearance between the next oven rack. I have had to re-jigger hot oven racks because I forget to check, and it is hazardous.
Drizzle remaining 1T of olive oil to coat the bottom of the roasting pan. Lay the other half of the sliced oranges flat in the center of the roasting pan to make a platform for the chicken.
If using a whole chicken, remove the guts and using kitchen shears, cut the backbone out of the chicken and split it so it spreads flat. Voila ici, you have spatchcocked a chicken. If using chicken thighs, take them out of the package and be happy.
Season chicken with salt, pepper and thyme and place on top of the orange slices. Put the vegetables and orange slices around the chicken. It is now ready for roasting.
Roast at 425°F for 20-25 minutes. The skin will start to brown toward the then.
While this is happening, mix honey and orange juice in a small saucepan. Boil and reduce until thick and syrupy. It takes around 10 minutes depending on how juicy the orange is.
At 25 minutes, turn the oven down to 375°F. Open the oven slowly and carefully especially if you are wearing glasses because it will steam. Brush the chicken with the orange honey sauce and let the chicken cook.
If you have a full chicken, it will cook for about 30 more minutes, until the internal temperature is 165°F. Brush the chicken a few more times during this cooking period and use all the sauce
If you are using chicken thighs, cook time will be faster, likely around 20 minutes. Brush the chicken thighs as with the whole chicken, using all the sauce.
Notes and Talking Story
- Uses three oranges total: one for roasting with the vegetables, one to act as a platform for the chicken, and one juiced to make the basting sauce
- The chicken will be a really pretty dark brown glaze as the orange/juice honey caramelizes.
- Flexibility and simplicity are what I love about this recipe. Flexible enough to use almost any combination of potatoes plus your favorite roasting vegetables. Simple flavors from oranges, honey and thyme.
- I was also pleasantly surprised that the roasted oranges among the vegetables are also great to eat, rind and all.
- We didn't eat the ones that sat under the chicken as they were squishier.