Roasted Mandarin Rosemary Chicken

When in doubt, cook chicken!  Chicken has to be the most versatile key ingredient on the planet.  You can roast it, bake it, disguise it 150 ways, put it in soups, stews, tortillas, and pasta, to mention a few ways.

I look for "deals" on whole organic chickens when I frequent the store.  I prefer organic because I really don't want the chemicals and syringe full of sodium solution injected into my meat.  If I need salt (and I don't), I want the opportunity to add it myself!

I'm a big fan of roasting whether it's a whole chicken or vegetables.  Somehow the flavor is always better.  Even though roasting a chicken is pretty straightforward, you can get creative with rubs and spices.  I had a few mandarins on the sink so I incorporated them into my basting sauce.

Ingredients:

1 mandarin, zested, peeled, sectioned and crushed

1 Tbsp oil

1 Tbsp butter

In a small saucepan place the mandarin pieces that were crushed.  (I also zested it first and saved it for the rub.)  Add the oil and butter.  Simmer for a bit and remove from the heat.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  In a roasting pan place the chicken.  In a small bowl add 1 Tbsp oil, 1 Tbsp dried rosemary, mandarin zest, garlic powder, salt and pepper.  Rub this onto the chicken and massage it in. 

Roast the chicken until done.  For a 5 lb. bird,  I roasted for 2 1/2 hours, approximately,  while using the mandarin basting sauce (and liquid in the pan from chicken) every 30 minutes.

Another roasted chicken with lemon slices under the breast skin and rubbed with garlic and herbs de provence, also delicious!

If you have time, depending on your schedule, roasted chicken is great because you usually have leftovers to use other ways during the week!