Orange you glad you made this Roasted Chicken!
We love roasted chicken in our house. It’s fairly inexpensive & oh so very versatile. So naturally I’m continually looking for new and exciting ways to make it. This recipe qualifies.
I think I’ve mentioned in other posts about my HUGE rosemary bush (It is, and I’m not kidding you, as large as my Suburban). I’ll have to post a photo of it one of these days. So, since I have this much rosemary at my disposal, I’m always looking for ways to incorporate it into my recipes.
This chicken is bursting with flavor. It’s tender & falls off the bone. No need for a knife here. I truly believe that my method of pushing the herb butter underneath the skin of the chicken breast is the secret to juicy & tender meat. I realize it’s not fun & can be slightly gross, but it works. Be very careful when using your pairing knife to cut the tissue away from the breast. You don’t want to tear the skin (this is what makes it so juicy). It’s also very important to let your chicken rest after cooking before cutting into it. You don’t want all of the juices flowing out & drying up your chicken. It will be tempting I know. The smell is intoxicating but resist.
Make your glaze as soon as it comes out of the oven & when your glaze is ready so will be your chicken! Everyone went back for seconds of this scrumptious bird! I know you’ll be glad you made it!
Let me know what flavor combinations you like with your roasted chicken!
Roasted Chicken with Orange Glaze
1 whole chicken
6-8 rosemary sprigs
1 & 1/2 onions
1/2 orange
1 stick unsalted butter - room temperature
s/p
Glaze:
1 cup orange juice - pulp free
1 sprig of rosemary
good pinch of cayenne pepper
3 tbsp honey
salt
flour water - to thicken (equal parts of flour to water ratio)
Preheat oven to 425. Clean & pat dry your chicken & season the cavity well with salt & pepper. Into cavity insert 1/2 onion, 1/2 orange & a few sprigs of rosemary. Tie legs together with kitchen string or silicone bands.
In a small bowl add butter & season with salt & pepper. Add 2 -3 sprigs of rosemary that have been finely chopped. Mix together well. Using a paring knife, remove the skin from the breast meat. Careful not to tear the skin. Insert herb butter underneath skin, pushing & massaging butter as far down as it will go. Take your whole onion and slice it thickly. Place the slices onto your roasting pan. These will act as a trivet/bed for your chicken. Place chicken on top of onion slices. Tuck wings under. Massage any extra herb butter onto the outside of the chicken. Season outside of chicken with salt & pepper. Place into oven and cook for 1 & 1/2 hours. Allow chicken to rest for 10 minutes and then drizzle your glaze on top!
While the chicken is resting make the glaze. To a sauce pan, add your orange juice, whole sprig of rosemary, honey & cayenne pepper. Stir well & cook over low-medium heat. Season with salt. Gradually whisk in your flour water to thicken sauce. Continue until sauce has reduced down by half. Remove rosemary sprig & ladle glaze over top of chicken. Garnish with any remaining sprigs of rosemary & orange slices.
Buon Appetito!
LOVELY!!!
Tasty looking roast chicken you have there. Delish!! I gotta try that orange glaze.
Thanks Jenn! I’ve had that one in my head for a while. Was hoping that the flavors would work & they did! Let me know how it turns out for you!
I love making roast chicken! Your picture is amazing. Well done.
This is a great recipe for roast chicken. I definitely agree that adding the herb butter under the skin of the bird keeps it more moist; I use this trick on my Thanksgiving turkey breast, and it turns out beautifully every time.
Thanks Julie! I was worried it wouldn’t be finished in time before sunset to take the picture - haha. Always thinking about lighting for the photo as much as making the food delicious!
Thanks Haley! I think it’s really worth the extra effort to season underneath. Glad you do it as well! In addition to herb butter, I LOVE to put bay leaves underneath the skin of my turkeys. It makes this beautiful impression, all the while flavoring it to perfection.
A while back I made a whole chicken with orange that turned out terrible, and I was so upset because the flavors sounded so good together! I think I’ll have to try your recipe to make up for my previous disaster!
Ciao Mindy! I’m so glad you’re going to give it a go. Let me know how it turns out for you.
Great chicken recipe! I love making roast chicken, but I usually stick to Marcella Hazan’s version with the lemons. I think it’s time I branched out a little, and this glaze sounds amazing.
Thanks Allison! I love roasted chicken as well (I think this is my third roasted chicken recipe on the blog) The glaze is amazing. I just kept dipping the chicken into it! Let me know how it turns out for you!
That looks and sounds amazing! I love chicken with rosemary, and I can only imagine how amazing this chicken smells from the orange inside! Yum, yum.
Thanks Joy! It’s one of my new favs. The smell is amazing. It permiated the whole house & there weren’t any leftovers
This looks fantastic. I always use some lemon when I roast a chicken, but maybe it’s time for a change!
Thanks so much! The glaze really makes it special. I have several roasted chicken recipes on the site. Here is my recipe that I use with lemons http://www.bellalimento.com/2009/01/16/herb-roasted-chicken I love that one too. I hope you’ll give the orange a try!
That chicken looks amazing, Paula! You really need to let me take some of that rosemary off your hands…lol. Actually, you’ve inspired me to plant my own. I’ve been planning on growing some herbs this summer but had forgotten about rosemary! Can’t wait to use it with this chicken!
Thanks Kristy! Well if you’re ever in NC just le me know! I have TONS of it & would be happy to share. I love to make my own rosemary & garlic infused olive oils as well. I’m always looking for something to do with it
At our house, roasted chicken is one of our favorite dishes! I do it several ways, but this is pretty close to one of them! I LOVE rosemary and chicken, the combo is so perfect! Thanks for the recipe, makes me want to roast a chicken really soon!
Thanks Alta! I love Rosemary too. It’s quite a little super herb.
We also have a humongous rosemary plant and I try and use it whenever possible.
I also slide the butter under the skin. I don’t consider it gross, I just consider I am giving my special friend a little massage!
This looks absolutely wonderful.
Have you tried adding some extra heat to the glaze? It could come out like General Tsao’s chicken!
[...] Roasted Chicken with Orange Glaze by bell’alimento 1 whole chicken 6-8 rosemary sprigs 1 & 1/2 onions 1/2 orange 1 stick unsalted butter - room temperature s/p [...]
Excellent idea. Now I know what to do with the super healthy rosemary bush in the garden!
Thanks Lou! I’m always dreaming up new recipes with Rosemary
i’m always looking for a new way to roast chicken! this will be my next try. looks great!
Let me know how it turns out for you! I hope you like it as much as we do!
Oh my, oh my, oh my—we just finished this dish accompanied by the sweet grilled asparagus. i could NOT stop eating. everyone of us loved it. the chicken was so moist and flavorful. the asparagus was crunchy and sweet with just a bit of char. yummy. thanks so much.
Thanks Lisa! I’m so glad it was a hit! I’m crazy about that asparagus! We’ll be making it a lot this summer!
I have made a pan version of this recipe for a couple of years with great success. It is similar but it uses orange marmalade as the base for a quick pan sauce. Your version is nice for a entertaining guests because it provides more time for socializing.
Thanks John! I really love roasted chikens and this one is one of my favs! The flavor combinations are delish & I like to keep things easy peasy!
[...] Orange Roasted Chicken From Bell’alimento [...]
I just discovered your web site and I am thrilled to have found such a wonderful resource! Your varied recipes sound absolutely amazing and I love the pictures that accompany them - such a great aid - (I can follow a recipe but I can’t create so the pictures really will help me a great deal!) lol I will be making the orange roasted chicken tomorrow and I can’t wait! See you again I’m sure!
Thank you so much Barbara. I really appreciate that. I hope you love the Orange Chicken. I have several roasted chicken recipes here on the site. I make them all the time!
OMG!!! Paula, this is absolutely the most delicious, moist and flavorful roast chicken we have ever eaten! It is outstanding to say the least! We love this recipe!! Is 5X a week too many nights to make it?? lol It is sooo good. I added some orange zest and freshly chopped (teeny pieces) of rosemary to the butter and S&P that is massaged under the skin before roasting. The meat was tender, moist and incredibly flavorful! The skin was crispy and tasted out of this world from the butter/rosemary/zest mixture! This recipe is now our #1 recipe for roast chicken. Thank you so very much!!
Barbarba, *blushing* that’s so sweet. I’m thrilled that you loved it. I love the orange & rosemary flavors. They’re so fab! Thanks so much for letting me know how it turned out!