Our newest recipe is from Ayrshire Farm®, a Green Restaurant Distributor™ located in Virginia. Find all of their sustainable meat offerings here. They also have two Certified Green Restaurant® locations, Gentle Harvest and Hunter's Head Tavern.
Ayrshire Farm® Cider Roasted Chicken
Working time: 35 minutes
Total preparation time: about 2 hours, plus overnight
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 large Ayrshire Farm® Certified Organic and Humane roasting chicken (about 6 pounds)
For the brine:
3 quarts of water
1 quart apple cider
1/4 Cup kosher salt
1 T black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 large onion, peeled and halved
4 parsley sprigs
4 garlic cloves, peeled
For basting:
2 Cups apple cider
Instructions:
Combine the brine ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring until salt is dissolved. Remove from the heat and cool completely.
Remove and discard giblets and neck from chicken. Rinse chicken in cold water and pat dry. Pour cold brine into a 2-gallon zip top plastic bag; add chicken and seal. Refrigerate 8 hours or overnight, turning bag occasionally.
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Bring 2 cups cider to a boil in small saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until cider is reduced to about 1/4 cup. Remove chicken from bag and discard brine. Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Place onion halves, parsley and garlic into cavity. Lift wing tips up and over back, tucking under chicken. Tie the legs to the boy.
Place chicken on rack of a broiler pan and bake for 1 1/4 hours, or until thermometer inserted into thickest part of the meat reads 175°F. Remove chicken from oven; do not turn oven off. Remove and discard skin. Baste with half of reduced cider and transfer to platter.
Pour drippings into a gravy skimmer; pour off fat and discard. Serve juices over chicken.