CITRUS CHICKEN

I recently bought a number of chickens from a local farm.  The chickens were large and after roasting the first chicken, I thought that the next chicken to be cooked should likely be marinated beforehand.  Some of the meat from the first chicken was tougher than I like.

You don't have to use a whole chicken for this recipe but can use a variety of cuts.  I cut up the large chicken using a Wusthof knife.  I have written about this knife in a previous post.  I also removed as much skin as possible from the chicken to cut down on the fat.  I marinated the cut up chicken for about five hours in a large roasting pan.  

I like this marinade as it is citrus based.  It is a great marinade and I will definitely use it again.  We had friends over for supper and all of us liked the flavour of the chicken.  

Marinade in a glass measuring cup.

Chicken place in the roasting pan with cut up oranges and lemon.

Ready to be served at the kitchen table.

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup olive oil

6-8 bone-in chicken breasts or an 8-pound whole chicken

4 lemons

2 oranges

8 garlic cloves, chopped

3 tbsp fresh oregano or 1 tsp dried oregano

3 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp honey, maple syrup or agave

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes or ¼ cup sweet chili sauce

salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Cut 1 orange into 8 wedges and 1 lemon into 6 wedges, and set aside.  Zest the orange and lemon to equal 1 teaspoon of each zest.  In a large measuring cup or other container, squeeze the lemons to yield 2/3 cup of juice.  Squeeze the oranges to yield 1/2 cup of juice.  Add the garlic, oregano, soy sauce, honey, and red pepper flakes to the citrus juice.  Mix well.

Using a large roasting pan or two 9×13 pans pour the olive oil into the pan and then add the chicken. Turn to coat.  Scatter the lemon and orange wedges between the pieces of chicken.  Pour the marinade over and cover with plastic wrap. Keep in the fridge for 6 hours, up to 12.   Give it a turn every now and again.  Once it is ready to put in the oven, drain off part of the marinade that is in the pan.  You only want a bit of liquid.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees, with the rack in the center of the oven.  Put the roasting pan, uncovered, into the oven and roast for 20 minutes, then lower the heat to 375 and roast until cooked through, about 40 minutes.

Adapted from http://thecreativemama.com/herb-and-citrus-marinated-roasted-chicken/