Cider Roasted Chicken With Root Vegetables
By: Zomppa
Published: Wednesday, December 16, 2009 - 7:54pm

Ingredients




The brine:

3 1/2 quarts water
1/2 quart apple cider
1/4 cup kosher or sea salt
1 tablespoon peppercorns
1 bay leaf
The chicken:

2 cups apple cider
3 pounds roasting chicken (organic or free-range tastes great)
1 inch red onion, chopped  large eighths
2 teaspoons dried rosemary
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

The vegetables:

3 inches carrots, chopped  2-inch chunks
6 red potatoes, quartered
1 inch turnip, chopped  2-inch chunks (I’m not a big fan of turnips, it turns out. You 
2 shallots, quartered
10 cloves garlic (peeled, whole)

Preparation

1 Put all the brining ingredients in large stockpot that is big enough for the chicken but small enough for your refrigerator. 2 Bring to boil, then cool. 3 Put rinsed chicken into brine (make sure it sits under the brine), stick in the refrigerator for about 7-8 hours. 4 Drain chicken, rinse, dry, and toss out brine. 5 Preheat oven to 375F. 6 Put chopped vegetables on bottom of oven-proof casserole or roasting pan. I used a casserole dish and a metal trivet big enough to hold the chicken just high enough over the vegetables and it worked beautifully. 7 Drizzle vegetables with olive oil, season with salt and pepper. 8 Add garlic and dried rosemary to butter and add under the skin of the chicken breast. To ensure you don’t break the skin, use one hand to pull the skin taut and using the index finger of the other, gently use a hooking motion to tear the connecting fat tissues to loosen the skin. 9 Stuff the chicken with the red onion. 10 Putting the chicken wing side up on the trivet, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. 11 Roast for about 40 minutes (check and if need, cover loosely with aluminum foil so not to burn). 12 Meanwhile, boil apple cider and reduce to about 1/4 cup. 13 Turn chicken breast side up and drizzle the apple cider reduction and roast for another 30 minutes (thigh should be about 170) 14 When done, remove chicken from vegetables and let cool.

About


As you know, I love cooking seasonally…and tis the season for apples, squashes, and root vegetables. I went searching from some recipes and got inspired. I decided to use apple as my theme and found seasonal, organic, and local ingredients, a roasting bird raised with compassion and vegetarian feed. The trick for me is that I like to prep earlier in the day (all the chopping) and put them in little bowls back in the fridge so they are easy to pull out when ready. This meal needs a bit of planning but trust me, it’s EASY. Don’t let the long list turn you away – I’m just being wordy.