Fine Cooking Magazine - November/December 2020

Servings: 6, with leftovers

If you’re going to roast one chicken, why not roast two? That way, you have plenty of leftovers to use in new, delicious guises later in the week. This recipe uses a two-part roasting method: first, the chicken is roasted at a high temperature to brown the skin, and then at a lower temperature to gently cook the meat through.

Ingredients

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 4-lb. whole chickens, each cut into 6 pieces (4 breasts with rib bones, 4 leg-thigh pieces, 4 wings)
4 large lemons
2 large oranges
8 medium cloves garlic, chopped
3 Tbs. chopped fresh oregano (or 1 Tbs. dried, crumbled)
3 Tbs. soy sauce
1 Tbs. honey
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Calories (kcal) : 390
Fat Calories (kcal): 220
Fat (g): 24
Saturated Fat (g): 6
Polyunsaturated Fat (g): 5
Monounsaturated Fat (g): 1
Cholesterol (mg): 125
Sodium (mg): 360
Carbohydrates (g): 3
Fiber (g): 0
Protein (g): 40

Preparation

Pour the olive oil into a heavy-duty nonreactive roasting pan large enough to accommodate the chicken pieces in one layer. Arrange the chicken in the pan with the breasts in the center and the legs and wings around the edge.
Cut 1 of the lemons into 6 wedges. Finely grate the zest from another lemon to yield 1 tsp. and then squeeze the remaining lemons to yield 2/3 cup juice; transfer the zest and juice to a small bowl. Cut 1 of the oranges into 8 wedges. Finely grate the zest from the remaining orange to yield 1 tsp., and then squeeze the orange to yield 1/2 cup juice; add to the bowl with the lemon juice and zest. Scatter the lemon and orange wedges around the chicken pieces, but don’t put them on top of the chicken or they’ll interfere with browning.
Stir the garlic, oregano, soy sauce, honey, and pepper flakes into the citrus juice. Pour the marinade evenly over the chicken. Cover with plastic and refrigerate, turning the chicken pieces occasionally, for at least 6 hours and up to 12 hours.
Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 425°F.
Turn the chicken so all the pieces are skin side up. Sprinkle with 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Roast for 20 minutes, and then reduce the heat to 375°F and continue to roast until the chicken is golden-brown and cooked through, about 30 minutes.
Transfer the chicken and the lemon and orange wedges to a platter. Pour the pan juice into a fat separator and let sit until the fat rises to the top. Discard the excess fat and pour the juice into a 10-inch skillet. Boil over medium-high heat until reduced to 1-1/2 cups, about 10 minutes.
Serve the chicken with the citrus wedges, passing the reduced pan juice at the table.

Serve with mashed or roasted potatoes and a green salad.

Use the leftover white meat in Chicken Tostadas, and the leftover dark meat in Chicken and Mushroom Risotto. For these recipes, reserve at least 1/2 cup of the pan juice and 2 lemon wedges, in addition to the leftover chicken.You can refrigerate the leftovers for up to 4 days. Store the chicken, pan juice, and citrus wedges separately.

(15 ratings) Read Reviews

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IN THIS RECIPE
Chicken
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Lemons
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Oranges
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Artichokes

Reviews

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Reviews (16 reviews)

cannotcook | 02/16/2014
I served this at a dinner party. However I used more garlic, more olive oil and more honey. It did not look brown enough after 50 minutes so I removed the chicken from the juices and roasted it for 15 additional minutes. It was amazing. My guests all asked for the recipe.
TheIneptChef | 02/16/2014
I've made this three times now. The house always smells wonderful as this dish was cooks. I used only drumsticks and liked that the leftovers were still moist the next day. Take the time to boil the sauce down; it mellows the flavours...otherwise there is a little bitterness in the flavour. My only complaint is that the orange overwhelms all other flavours, including lemon. Next time, I will reduce the orange influence so that some of the other ingredients can be tasted too.
Alpine419 | 01/20/2013
The chicken was great due the aromatics.WHAT would possess you to eat the orange slices in the first place?
Alpine419 | 01/20/2013
The chicken was great due the aromatics.WHAT would possess you to eat the orange slices in the first place?

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