Roast Chicken with Orange and Meyer Lemon
Chicken is one of the most popular proteins. There are tons of recipes in books, magazines and on the internet- but people are still always looking for new recipes to make their weeknight meals a bit more exciting.
One of the more classic ways of making chicken is roasting a whole bird. A lot of people are a bit intimidated to make this dish.
It is one of my favorite ways to eat chicken. I love how my house smells as the bird is roasting in the oven. I also love how I can create a one pot meal by adding tons of vegetables to the bottom of the roasting pan.
For this particular one, I used a lot of winter ingredients in season. I made a compound butter consisting of orange and meyer lemon zest. I filled the bottom of the pan with carrots and fennel.
The chicken was delicious….
- One 4 to 5 pound whole chicken
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- Zest of 2 Clementine or 1 Navel orange (save the oranges)
- Zest of 1 Meyer lemon (save the lemon)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- Salt
- Pepper
Mix the butter, olive oil, zests, salt and pepper in a small bowl. In the meantime, place the chicken in a roasting pan on a roasting rack. Spread the butter mixture on top and under the skin. Sprinkle with more salt and pepper inside the cavity as well as outside.
- 2 cups chicken broth
- Juice of the spare oranges and Meyer lemon
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Pour the chicken broth at the bottom of the roasting pan. Add the orange and lemon juice. Place the juiced oranges and lemon into the cavity. Tie the chicken legs together and tuck the wings in.
- 1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 pound fennel, trimmed and sliced
Place the vegetables at the bottom of the roasting pan. Roast the chicken until the dark meat registers 160 degrees F. Take the chicken out and cover with aluminum foil. Take the vegetables out keep warm. Reduce the liquid by half and pour into a gravy boat. Take out excess fat and serve with the chicken and vegetables.
