Sephardic Roast Chicken With Orange, Lemon, and Ginger

Oolala's Note:

"Ginger adds a distinctive flavor to this roast chicken. The history of ginger in Jewish cooking began when it arrived in Italy with Sephardic Jewish emigrants from North Africa around 200 B.C." From a Shop Rite calendar for Passover. I would season chicken with garlic powder as well as salt and pepper but the recipe doesn't call for garlic.

• Total Time: 3 hrs
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 2 hrs 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 1 (5 lb) roasting chickens
• 1 orange
• 2 lemons
• 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated, divided
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste
• 5 tablespoons margarine, unsalted, melted, can use olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 orange, for garnish, sectioned

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Rinse chicken and pat dry with paper towels.
3. Grate zest from 1 orange and from only 1 of the lemons and reserve it.
4. Cut the zested lemon into quarters and rub the outside of the chicken with the lemon quarters and discard them.
5. Cut the zested orange into quarters and also cut the other lemon into quarters and reserve them.
6. In a small bowl, stir together lemon and orange zests and 1 tablespoons of the grated ginger and rub this mixture evenly inside cavity of the chicken.
7. Put the orange and remaining lemon quarters inside body and neck of the chicken and season chicken all over with salt and pepper.
8. Place the chicken on a rack set in a shallow roasting pan.
9. In a small bowl stir together margarine or oil, citrus juices, honey, and remaining 2 tablespoons of grated ginger.
10. Place chicken on the middle rack of the oven and roast for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, or until a meat thermometer inserted in the fleshy part of thigh registers 170 degrees F. and juices run clear.
11. Baste with the citrus juice mixture at least 4 times during roasting.
12. *If chicken is browning too quickly, tent with foil.
13. Transfer to a platter and let rest for 10-15 minutes before carving chicken.
14. Garnish with orange sections.

Reviews

[Chef #1116913]

Fantastic! Thanks so much for sharing :)