Orange Ginger Roast Chicken - infused with flavour! This chicken is brined to add seasoning and juiciness before roasting to tender perfection!
Course
Dinner
Prep Time30minutes
Cook Time1hour30minutes
Total Time2hours
Servings1or 2 roast chickens
AuthorBarry C. Parsons
Ingredients
1or 2 three to 4 pound chickens
For the steeped herbs & spices (for the brine recipe)
3tbsppeppercorns
4tbspdry thyme
4whole star anise
2tbspwhole cloves
4tbspgrated fresh ginger
4cloveschopped garlic
1cupboiling water
To make the brining liquid
6litres water
Zest and juice of 2 whole oranges
1chopped onion
Few sprigs fresh thyme if you have them
¾cupsugarHere you can experiment with flavours by using equal amounts of other sugars like honey, maple, molasses or brown sugar.
½cupkosher salt
Steeped herbsabove
You will also need ( to put in the cavity of the chicken)
1small orange
About 6 sprigs fresh thyme
4peeled cloves garlic
several slices fresh ginger
Instructions
For the steeped herbs & spices (They go in the brining liquid)
In a small bowl combine the peppercorns, thyme, star anise, cloves, ginger, garlic and boiling water.
Set aside to steep for a few minutes while you prepare the rest of the brining liquid.
To make the brine
In a very large bowl or small food grade plastic bucket,combine the water with the steeped herbs, oranges and zest, onion, thyme, sugar and salt.
Stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved, then submerge the chicken/s entirely in the brining liquid. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or preferably overnight.
Pull the chicken from the brine and pat the skin dry with paper towels. Rub the entire surface of the chicken with 2 tbsp olive oil.
Season the skin with salt and pepper and some chopped fresh thyme.
Boil 1 small orange for about 10 minutes.
Stab the orange about a dozen times with a fork and stuff it into the cavity of the bird along with the fresh thyme, garlic and ginger.
Roast uncovered on a rack in a preheated 375 degree F oven until a meat thermometer reaches 185 degrees when inserted into the thickest part of the breast meat ( approximate 1 ½ hours or longer depending on the actual weight of the chicken)
Recipe Notes
The brining liquid in this recipe is sufficient for 2 chickens or a turkey. If you are only cooking one chicken you can half the amounts included in the recipe for the bringing liquid.