Tea Rubbed Roast Chicken
- Details
This tea rubbed roast chicken the best roast chicken I’ve ever made, and that is not a claim made lightly…
The meat is moist and delicious, the pan sauce otherworldly, and all of the components come together to create a beautiful new flavor. The star is our new Middle Eastern Tea Rub, delightfully balanced with an exotic depth. The blend unites all of the flavors of the dish, while the subtle smokiness of the tea brings the pan sauce to storied heights. Finally, if you have extra room in your pan, go ahead and throw in a few vegetables. We had a sweet potato and a few baby reds on hand.
Tea Rubbed Roast Chicken
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons ground Middle Eastern Tea Rub
- 2 1/2 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons orange zest
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- 1 roasting chicken, 3-4 pounds
- 4 black lemons
- 1/2 teaspoon ground Tellicherry pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- In a small bowl, combine the tea rub, honey, olive oil, orange zest and orange juice. Stir well to combine and set aside.
- Rinse the chicken with cold water inside and out, then pat dry.
- In a mortar & pestle, crack open each black lemon with one good whack. Insert the cracked black lemons into the cavity of the chicken, and sprinkle the salt and pepper all over the outside.
- Rub the spice-honey-orange glaze evenly over the outside of the chicken. Transfer the chicken to a large, lightly oiled cast iron skillet and pour any remaining glaze on top.
- Roast the chicken for 30 minutes, and then baste with pan juices. Return the chicken to the oven and cook 30 minutes more. If the top of the chicken starts getting too dark, tent with foil. Check the temperature, the chicken is done when the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees at the thickest part of the thigh.
- Remove the chicken from the oven and allow it to rest 5 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and remove the meat from the bones. Place the meat back in the skillet with the pan juices and warm over low heat.
- Serve the meat and juices over a warm grain pilaf with roasted vegetables.
Much credit is due to my colleague and co-author of World Spice at Home, Julie Kramis Hearne. Her recipe for honey-glazed chicken was the inspiration for this recipe. If you’ve never roasted a chicken in a cast iron skillet, as she suggests, now is the time. It’s the pan that never disappoints.
Fried Potatoes with Harissa Tehina
The cookbook club is taking a trip to the Middle East for the March 2016 Meet & Eat with Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking. This fantastic book from Michael Solomonov and James Cook reinterprets …
Urfa Biber – Strawberry Ice Cream
Chiles aren’t just for cooking savory food; many are wonderful in desserts, too. Urfa biber, for example, is a great pairing with berries or chocolate. At a recent cook-off, we added urfa biber to Strawberry …
Umami Apple Pie
For our final meeting of the year, the World Spice Cookbook Club is taking on recipes from The Flavour Principle: Enticing Your Senses With Food And Drink. This cookbook, containing recipes from around the world, focuses …
Summer Vegetable Pasta Bake
For summer gatherings, this healthy pasta bake offers an easy way to keep a large group fed and get in some vegetables along with the burgers and brats. Using a medley of fresh summer vegetables, …
Tellicherry Buttermilk Biscuits
I drew inspiration for these Tellicherry buttermilk biscuits from our September cookbook club selection, My Two Souths by Asha Gomez. This enchanting cookbook is a delightful collection of recipes blending culinary traditions from Southern India and …
Leave a Comment