Chicken a l'Orange ~ French Style for Today's Cook
Make a l'Orange Sauce as the chicken roasts (recipe below).
Ingredients:
- 3 ½ pounds fresh whole chicken, cleaned and dried
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 8 medium fresh thyme sprigs
- 1/4 cup julienned orange rind (see note)
Method:
Wash and dry the chicken. Loosen the skin carefully with your fingers, and slip the thyme sprigs under the skin. Two sprigs on each breast, two sprigs on each thigh. Rub with salt and pepper. Fill cavity with orange rind. Truss with string. Put on a plate and air dry in the refrigerator for 3 - 8 hours uncovered, with just a paper towel on top. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Take chicken out of the refrigerator while the oven heats up. Put a roasting v rack in a shallow roasting pan. Spray with oil. Put chicken, breast side down. Roast for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, turn over carefully with the aid of tongs, breast side up. Roast for 30 minutes until the chicken's skin is golden brown and crispy. Remove from oven. Test for doneness by making a little slit with a knife at the meaty part of the thigh meat. It should run clear. A larger chicken will take a few more minutes to cook, so reduce the oven to 350 degrees until done.
Cut into 4 serving pieces. Serve with A l'Orange sauce.
Notes:
Caution: Roasting at high heat can create smoke in the kitchen, consider using ventilation fans and open a close by window or door.
To julienne and blanch orange rind:
Take the orange rind off a navel orange with a vegetable peeler in long lengths. Cut into long julienne matchstick strips.
In small sauce pan, add 1 cup of water and julienned orange. Bring to a boil, simmer 5 minutes. Drain, pat dry.
Servings: 4
Sauce recipe: A l'Orange Sauce for Roast Chicken
