Apple Roasted Chicken Recipe
Apple-Bacon Roasted Chicken is full of scrumptious sweet and smoky flavors. It's a super cozy meal that's both impressive enough for a dinner party, and easy enough for a busy weeknight.
Servings: 4
Calories: 707kcal
Ingredients
- 3 strips applewood smoked bacon
- 1½ cups hard apple cider
- 2 cups sliced Granny Smith apples (1 large or 2 small apples) washed, dried, cored
- 1 cup thinly sliced onion
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 (4½-pound) whole chicken
Instructions
- Set the oven and cook the bacon. Preheat the oven to 475°F. Place a paper towel on a plate and set it aside.In a large, ovenproof skillet (ideally, 14-inch cast iron), over medium heat, cook the bacon until it's crispy, about 3 minutes per side. Turn the heat off, remove the bacon, and place it on the paper towel-lined plate to drain. Crumble it once it's cool enough to handle. Leave the grease in the pan!
- Sauté sauce ingredients. Turn the heat to medium and add the sliced onions to the skillet with the bacon fat, and sauté until golden, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and sliced apples, mix, and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the thyme and crumbled bacon, and then pour the cider over everything. Simmer for about 3 minutes. Add the butter and once it's melted into the sauce, season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Truss the chicken and begin roasting. Season the inside and outside of the chicken with salt and pepper, and then truss it with butcher's twine. (Here's how.) Place it breast side up on top of the apple mixture. Spoon some of the liquid from the sauce over the chicken.Place the skillet in the preheated 475°F oven and roast until the chicken is golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove the chicken from the oven and reduce the heat to 350°F.
- Flip the chicken and continue roasting. Use tongs, heat resistant cooking gloves or your hands to flip the chicken over so it's now breast side down. Try to arrange the apples under the chicken so the legs are higher than the breasts. If that's tricky, just use a crumbled piece of foil.
- Roast. Place the skillet in the 350°F oven and continue to roast until the internal temperature is 155°F - this should take about 40 minutes. The final internal temperature will be about°F, as the chicken will continue to cook for several minutes outside of the oven. Use a meat thermometer to check the temperature. You'll also know it's done when the juices run clear and the legs should move easily when it's done. Baste the chicken with the cider-butter mixture every 15 minutes or so.
- Rest, season and serve. Wait at least 15 minutes before carving, to allow the juices to settle.
Notes
Nutritional information is automatically calculated, so it should only be used as an estimate.
Nutrition
Calories: 707kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 43g | Fat: 51g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 19g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 204mg | Sodium: 270mg | Potassium: 644mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 695IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 2mg