Five-Spice Roast Chicken (Tom Douglas)
- Ready In:
- 2hrs 15mins
- Ingredients:
- 17
- Serves:
-
4
ingredients
-
Five-Spice Paste
- 3 star anise
- 1⁄2 dried chipotle chile, stem and seeds removed
- 1⁄2 cinnamon stick, broken up into 1/2 inch pieces
- 2 teaspoons fennel seeds
- 1⁄4 teaspoon whole cloves
- 1⁄4 teaspoon hulled cardamom seed
- 1 tablespoon peeled grated fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1⁄4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons peanut oil or 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
-
Chicken
- 1 (3 -3 1/2 lb) whole chickens, wing tips trimmed
- 1⁄4 orange, cut into wedges, plus extra orange wedges for garnish
- 3 star anise
- kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter or 2 tablespoons bacon fat, melted
directions
- Make the paste: add the star anise, chile, cinnamon, fennel, cloves, and cardamom in a small pan over medium heat; toast for a few minutes until aromatic, shaking the pan.
- Let cool, then grind toasted spices in a spice mill or clean coffee grinder.
- Transfer ground spices to a small bowl.
- Add in the ginger, garlic, brown sugar, salt, and pepper.
- Gradually add the oil, stirring with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to make a smooth paste.
- Trim the excess fat from the chicken and clean out the cavity.
- Rinse under cold water and pat dry.
- Use you hands to rub the spice paste all over the skin of the chicken; set the chicken on a rack over a baking pan and place it, uncovered, in the refrigerator overnight.
- The next day, preheat the oven to 425°; put the ¼ orange and star anise in the cavity of the chicken, season the bird with kosher salt, and place it on a rack in a roasting pan.
- *For easier cleanup, line the roasting pan with foil because the spice paste that drips off may burn.
- Using a bulb baster instead of a brush, so you don’t disturb the spice crust, baste the chicken with the melted butter or bacon fat and put the bird in the oven to roast.
- Baste the chicken with the fat collecting in the bottom of the pan every 20 minutes.
- The chicken is done when an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh reads 175° and the juices run clear, about 1 ¼ hours.
- Remove the chicken from the oven and let rest 5-10 minutes before carving.
- To carve the chicken, cut off the legs and separate into leg and thigh.
- Using a knife or poultry shears, cut out the backbone, then separate the breasts by cutting through the breastbone.
- Cut off the wings, then cut each breast into 2 pieces.
- You should have 10 pieces—2 legs, 2 thighs, 4 pieces of breast, and 2 wings; pile the chicken pieces on a large platter and garnish with orange wedges.
Questions & Replies
Got a question?
Share it with the community!
Reviews
Have any thoughts about this recipe?
Share it with the community!