I was skimming through recipes at Williams Sonoma’s great online collection when I saw something about Maple Bacon Roast Chicken and thought the combination sounded great but I didn’t want to go buy their rub to do it. Why not just use real bacon and maple instead when I already had them in the house?
It would’ve been a lot easier if I’d had use of my large oven. Cramming two chickens into a small glass pan and then into the small oven made it more difficult and increased the cooking time since the heat can’t circulate very well. If I’d been able to use my favorite All Clad roaster pan instead, it would’ve gone straight from oven to stove top, making the sauce easier.
Still, it worked out really well. Served alongside Gouda Grits, this recipe is definitely a keeper.
Ingredients:
-Whole Fryers or Roasters
-Bacon, Maple-Flavored to keep the theme going
-Shallots, because I had them in the pantry. Easy enough to use onion or skip it altogether.
-Maple Syrup, probably 1/2 cup total
-Black Pepper
-Chicken Stock, 1 to 2 cups
Directions:
Slice the shallot or onion into rings.
Rinse the birds and pat them dry. Stuff a few shallot slices under the skin and throw the rest into the cavity.
Cover the chicken with bacon strips and sprinkle it generously with black pepper.
Pour just a little syrup into the cavity.
Drizzle a little more syrup over the chicken and roast at 350 until they’re done.
Remove the chicken from the oven and let it sit for a few minutes before taking it to a platter.
A couple of bacon strips had fallen off so I diced those in the pan.
Add the chicken stock.
And a little more maple syrup. Scrape up all the browned goodness from the pan bottom.
Here’s where it would’ve been easier to use the big stainless roaster pan that goes straight to the stove. Instead, I poured the whole thing into a small saucepan.
Bring it to a nice low boil and skim off the excess fat at it cooks. Let it simmer until it’s reduced to about half. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve alongside the chicken.
Enjoy!