Simple Citrus Oven Roasted Chicken.

There’s something so comforting about oven roasted chicken that it’s usually made in some form or the other in my home a couple times a month. Growing up on the islands, ‘bake’ chicken was a Sunday thing, along with macaroni pie, callaloo and other fixings. I still remember the aroma coming out of the kitchen early Sunday morning as we went about doing our weekend chores and the anticipation of that traditional lunch with my siblings and parents.

You’ll Need…

3-5 lbs chicken legs
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup orange juice
1 1/2 lemons
2 tablespoon parsley (chopped)
5-7 sprigs lemon thyme (divided)
1/3 teaspoon black pepper (divided)
3 tablespoon olive oil (divided)
cherry tomatoes (optional)
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
3 cloves garlic
1 scallion (chopped)
1 tablespoon honey (I used an organic raw honey)
1/2 teaspoon allspice

Important! If doing this recipe gluten free, please go through the full list of ingredients to ensure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs.

Clean and trim off any extra skin and fat off the chicken. You may choose to remove all the skin, but when oven roasting chicken I like leaving the skin on. It helps to keep the chicken from going too dry, plus the rendering of the skin/layer of fat, keeps the dish moist. I also cut a couple slits on the thickest part of the chicken.

In a large bowl place 1/2 the thyme, 1/2 the olive oil, salt, juice of 1/2 a lemon (juice), orange juice, 1/2 the black pepper, honey, garlic, allspice, parsley, scallion and grated ginger. Give it a good mix, then pour it over the chicken.

Preheat your oven to 400 F. You may marinate the chicken for a couple hours, but in my case I went at it right away. Massage the pieces of chicken with your hands to coat both sides. Then sprinkle on the remaining black pepper and olive oil over the chicken. Tuck in the remaining lemon (sliced) as well as the thyme between the pieces of chicken (on a roasting pan/sheet) and place the tomatoes in-between as well.

Then it’s into the oven on the middle rack.

Depending on the size of your chicken pieces, it will take between 1 hour and 5 minutes and 1 hour and 20 minutes. For additional color, you may hit the broil setting the last 2-4 minutes.

So simple to put together and very tasty.. definitely a recipe I’ll encourage you to give  a test-drive. Please keep in mind that I’ve cut back on the amount of salt I use, so you may need to add a bit more if salt is your thing. I’d recommend sprinkling on the chicken before it goes into the oven, if you do decided to add more salt. TIP! Line with baking tray with parchment paper or foil for less work cleaning up after.

Do you own a copy of my cookbook ?- The Vibrant Caribbean Pot 100 Traditional And Fusion recipes Vol 2