Witchin’ in the Kitchen: Sweet and Savory Roast Beast

Feel like making a fancy-schmancy meal to impress the family this feasting holiday? Whether it be Thanksgiving, Yule, or a random Tuesday night during apple harvesting season, this chicken dish is a crowd-pleaser. AND you can reenact the feast scene from The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, as you pass it around the table, which is usually my ulterior motive on any family feasting occasion.

This oven-roasted chicken with a curried honey mustard sauce is served with potatoes, carrots and apples, and serves at least 6 with plenty to go around. Even a beginner cook can pull this meal off with relative ease. If you can peel a carrot and chop veggies into bite-sized pieces, you are good to go.  No need for expensive equipment, just a large, shallow roasting pan or casserole dish. I like a good pyrex. Also, a meat thermometer is an important tool to have around. I’ve included a vegan option at the end, too!

Sweet and Savory Roast Beast with Potatoes, Carrots and Apples

Ingredients:

• 3-5 pound whole chicken, the more naturally raised the better.
• 4-5 medium potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces. Or in this version, I used 15 or so small red potatoes, quartered.
• 8 carrots, peeled and chopped into large bite-sized chunks.
• 3 apples, cored and cut into wedges. I’ve enjoyed both Granny Smith and Gala varieties.
• Two whole cloves of garlic
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper

Glaze:

• 4 Tablespoons butter. If you need to omit the dairy, use Extra Virgin Olive oil instead.
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 cup honey
• 1/2 cup spicy brown mustard
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 2-3 cloves minced fresh garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, or 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, set the rack down pretty low to accommodate the tall bird.
2. Wash and dry chicken, place breast side up in a large, shallow roasting pan. Brush chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper, including the cavity of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with wedges from half an apple and two cloves of garlic. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine.
3. Add the potatoes and carrots around the chicken, drizzle with a few tablespoons of olive oil, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
4. Roast uncovered for 1 hour, checking every 20 minutes to stir the veggies a bit, spooning the pan drippings over everything, and rotating the pan for an even, crispy skin.
5. Meanwhile, prepare glaze in a saucepan by bringing the butter (or oil) to a sizzle and sauteing the onion until glossy. Add all the other ingredients and stir constantly while simmering over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat.
6. After an hour of roasting, drain off a majority of the pan drippings. Add the apples into the veggies around the chicken and stir everything together.  Then drizzle everything with all of the delicious honey-mustard-curry glaze. YUMMO!
7. Roast for 20 minutes more. It is done when a meat thermometer reads an internal temp of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Best to check in the thickest part of the thigh.
8. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before carving. Untie the bird, and discard the apple/garlic that were the stuffing.

You may have noticed that many of my recipes for the autumn season happen to use both apples and curry. What can I say? I’m a sucker for the exotic flavors of Southeast Asia, and that combination of sweet, tart, and spicy. This dish still remains solidly in the “mild” ranking – enough that my children lap it up without complaint. If you really do want it to be spicy hot, try increasing the red pepper flakes!

Vegan Option

And for my vegan and vegetarian readers, this glaze simply must be experienced! For a veggie side dish, substitute the chicken for a head of cauliflower, broken down into large florets. Up the cooking temp to 425 degrees, roast the potatoes and carrots together for 30 minutes, coated in 3-4 tablespoons of Olive Oil and a light sprinkling of salt and pepper. Then add the apples, cauliflower and the glaze and toss everything together.  Finish roasting for 15 minutes more, or until everything is fork tender and has a bit of charring on the edges.

If you like this dish, try these:

Witchin’ in the Kitchen: Thai Autumn Squash Casserole, Vegan and GF

Witchin’ in the kitchen: Autumn Harvest Bisque, Vegan and GF

Enjoy!
~Heron