Citrus And Tea-Glazed Roast Chicken

Tired of turkey and ham for the holidays? Try this, if you are looking for something delicious and different. Serve with mashed potatoes, vegetable or two of your choosing and, of course, a nice crisp side salad. Don’t forget to pour a glass of wine to make a toast with (as if you would – forget that is)….

To make this, start the day ahead with the brine and while you are at it, make the tea glaze as well and you are ahead of the game. You can, if you want to spend as much time with  your company, do up the potatoes, cover and refrigerate. Day of, heat in the oven until hot and serve.

Brine

• 4 cups brewed black tea
• 4 cups water
• 1/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
• 1/2 cup kosher salt
• 1 lemon, cut in half
• 1 tangerine, cut in half
• 1 tsp. fennel seed
• 8 pink peppercorns
• 1 x 3-4 lb.  whole chicken

Place all ingredients in a large pot and bring to the boil over high heat. Stir occasionally to make sure the sugar and salt have dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to completely cool down to room temperature. Add the chicken to the cooled brine, cover and refrigerate overnight. Step 1 – Done.

Tea Glaze

• 1 cup honey
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 2 tbsp. lime juice

In a small sauce pan, bring to a simmer, stirring to ensure sugar has completely dissolved. Cool down, then cover and refrigerate overnight. Step 2 – Done.

Chicken

• 1  large lemon, halved
• 1 orange, halved
• 1 large lime (or two small ones) halved

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove chicken from the brine and pat dry with paper towels. Discard the brine. Place chicken on a rack in a roast pan, tucking the wine under. Stuff the cavity with orange, lemon and lime halves.

Secure the legs with twine or skewers and season the skin lightly with salt and pepper. Add 1/2 cup water to the pan and roast for 35 minutes. Brush the chicken now with the tea glaze. Continue roasting, brushing the tea glaze on every 10 minutes until a meat thermometer reaches 170F. Probably 35-40 minutes more. transfer to a platter and let rest. Bring the pan juices to a hard boil scraping up the bits, if any, and stir until reduced. Drizzle over the chicken.

Slice, serve with mashed potatoes and your vegetables. Does this make you hungry? Enjoy.