Apple Ginger Roast Chicken

Recipes posted a year ago:

• Carrot Beet Slaw
• Chunky Sausage Tomato Soup
• Creamy Morel Chicken

Yesterday started out extremely overcast, and even sprinkled a few times.  Even though it is mid-July, and summer doesn’t really feel like it has even started for us in the PNW, it had the feeling of a fall day to me.  This got me thinking about apples for some reason, and that led me to put together this simple and tasty roast chicken recipe to use up one of the chickens we had just picked up at Inspiration Plantation on Saturday.

Gather Up:

• One whole chicken, about 4 lbs, fully thawed
• 3 apple slices (about 1/4 of an apple), cut into 1/2″ pieces
• 2 tbsp bacon fat (we keep a glass bowl of it in the fridge)
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated fine
• 3/4 tsp sea salt, divided
• 3/4 tsp black pepper, divided
• 3/4 tsp anise seeds, divided
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon, divided

Heat the grill (or oven) to 350 degrees indirect heat.  Combine the apples, bacon fat, and ginger in a small food processor or blender.  Add 1/2 tsp each of the salt, pepper, anise, and cinnamon.  Puree until fully combined into a coarse paste.

Use the handle of a wooden spoon to work under the skin of the chicken and separate it from the meat (being careful not to tear the skin) along the entire breast and out over the thighs.  If you have a long enough spoon, try to get some of the drumstick skin worked loose as well.

Next, work the apple paste under the skin of the chicken so it is evenly spread over the meat below.  I do this using the spoon end of the wooden spoon and insert a spoonful of paste under the skin.  Then, with my other hand on the outside, I scrape the paste off the spoon against the underside of the skin, and then “massage” the paste around until spread out evenly.  Reserve a few tablespoons of the paste and spread it inside the open cavity of the bird as well.  Finally, sprinkle the outside of the chicken with the remaining 1/4 tsp each of salt, pepper, anise, and cinnamon.

Place the bird, breast up, directly on the grill, or place on a wire grate inside of a roasting pan if you are using an oven.  Cook for about 90 minutes, or until a meat probe inserted into the thickest part of the breast reads 165 degrees.  Or you can use a remote thermometer probe to keep track of the cooking bird (and help decide when to start cooking your side dishes).

Tent the chicken with foil for about 10 minutes, then carve and arrange on a platter for serving.  Save the carcass to make a unique and tasty soup broth, perhaps combining some more apples, ginger, and spices.