Clementine Roasted Chicken

Perfectly crispy seasoned skin, fragrant juices to keep the chicken moist, tasty gravy and to top it off, the remainders for making a tremendous homemade stock. Yes, I was happy with my little 3 1/2 pound chicken, which delivered all I could expect and hope for.  On a budget?   I am ……. have I mentioned I’m a Realtor?  For $2.11 this was enough to feed four for dinner and a treat for pup Finn. All I had to do was make it special – and  little fruits of sunshine, clementines, were the key.

Sweet, packed with flavor and juice, all I had to do was cut one in half and insert it into the cavity of the washed chicken while the other one was for the outside of the bird. The oils from the tender skin infused the bird with flavor top-down, and the juice the heat of cooking extracted from the segments flavored the meat and the gravy I ultimately made. Mmmm, citrus and chicken have a natural affinity, especial a sweet citrus and this easy recipe for roast chicken makes chicken special! 

Roast Chicken Clementine Recipe:  (serves four)

• One  3 1/2#  to 4# chicken
• 2 clemantines, cut in half
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 350°

Remove any giblets and neck from the chicken and rinse the chicken well.

Pat dry, place one of the halved clementines, the bay leaf and the garlic into the large cavity.

Place the chicken on a roasting rack in a roasting pan and squeeze the juice (seeds removed) of the other clementine all over the chicken.

Rub the chicken all over with the olive oil and season liberally with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Something I learned a couple of Thanksgivings ago, when I was out of time to be messing with the big bird,  holds true for even a little chicken. Just rub olve oil all over the skin. It not only seals in flavor, it also browns nicely and keeps the breast meat moist. Too simple?  Sometimes simple is best and no basting is required!

Put the chicken into the preheated oven for roughly 20 minutes a pound, or until the internal temperature reaches 165-170 degrees at the thickest part of the thigh. The temperature will rise 5 degrees or so while the bird is resting. 

Another note on the roasting – I never tie the legs. I think that is for people who may not like the splay-legged look of an untied chicken, yet somehow don’t seem to mind the pale undercooked skin that appears when you UN-tie the legs of the cooked bird.

 While the gizzards went to the dog and not the gravy this time, the delectable juices the roasted bird produced did. The gluten-free homestyle gravy really made the roasted potatoes served on the side special!  The gravy will have to wait for a different post, but here’s a hint – I thickened it with cornstarch.